Fifty Shadows of Persona
by Demonwithasoul
Summary: After defeating Ameno-sagiri, Souji thought it was all over, until he was dragged back one year to the past to truly solve the mystery of the midnight channel. Now, with knowledge of the future, can he change the flow of events? Especially one that would introduce Saki Konishi to a new world she never would have imagined. Mild Bondage themes.
1. The Fool

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

Greetings fellow readers! After finally having the chance of playing Persona 4 (sadly, not the Persona 4 Golden…yet) I decided to write this story.

The premise of this story is going to be a bit…different. Once in a while, it is a good thing to break the monotony and just try something new.

Oh! Before I forget; this will include some Yosuke x Saki story. I know that Yu is going to be prominent on the first few chapters, but that's just to start things off. If this story gets popular enough I'll pair Yu/Seta with any girl (or girls) depending on the feedback I get.

Now, onto the story...

* * *

"I'll think about it"

Looking at the ticket Yosuke gave her, Saki felt the urge to rip it apart and toss it to the garbage bin like it was a foul thing to be holding. Just yesterday, the prince of Junes (as she and most people called Yosuke at his back) gave her the ticket now in her hand and asked her if she would consider going with him. While he nervously ranted about how a break now and then would be good for her to try and hide his painfully obvious attraction to her, she gave him a fake smile and told him she'd think about it, That was enough to put a large grin on his face and hopefully keep him away from her for the day at least.

The sound of tearing was heard as she tore the ticket and tossed it to the bin. Wasn't it enough to have witness Mayumi's body hanging like that, but now she had to deal with this?

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when someone knocked at the door. Expecting to see another cop wanting to question her about today's events, Saki groaned and went to open it and was surprised to find no one on the other side. In fact, the entire street seemed empty at this hour.

"That's weird"

Dismissing it, Saki went to close the door when she felt her body going stiff; feeling almost like someone or something was preventing her from moving. Her eyes quickly confirmed her suspicions that no one was next to her, but yet she was unable to move. Panicking, Saki tried to yell when something invisible slammed over her mouth, preventing any sound to come out and also denying her a breath of air. No matter how hard she struggled she just couldn't budge from whatever was holding her in place.

Realizing she was losing conscious for lack of air, bitter tears started forming on her eyes "NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

In her final moments, she saw the faces of her parents, her brother Naoki, her friends and wished she could see them one last time. Even Yosuke, despite annoying her for reasons out of his control, was prominent in the mind. With one final tug, her body went limp and the oppressing force that held her in place released some of the tension around her.

Lowering her unconscious body, the imposing form of Izanagi looked to his other self as he emerged from his hiding spot.

"You did good Izanagi, thank you." Seta Souji sighed as he looked at the sleeping form of one Saki Konishi. Looking at his persona he asked: "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

Izanagi looked at him and even when the persona was silent, Souji knew no words were needed. This was the only way to save her.

Noticing that events hadn't reset themselves like before, reassured Souji and so they moved to the next part of their plan. Motioning to Izanagi, the persona carried Saki's sleeping form over his shoulder and grabbed hold of Souji with his free arm before flying off to the hiding place they had prepared. It was fortunate that Izanagi was invisible to non-persona users, and was more fortunate that any person or thing he carried was also turn invisible, or else tomorrow's newspapers would be telling the story of a flying being in the town of Inaba.

Just minutes after they left, Adachi arrived to the place to bring Saki Konishi for interrogation, but finding no one he just shrugged and returned to the precinct. It was a shame for him, after seeing her with Namatame, he had wanted to corner the little slut and have a little slice of what the idiot was having "Oh well, tomorrow's another day".

Back to Souji, the trio arrived at their destination: an isolated house in the border of town that he rented using an anonymous alias to avoid attracting any unwanted attention to himself and his family; he had learned that from the last reset.

You might be wondering what Souji means with reset, well, to explain it one must go back to when it all started:

* * *

After defeating Ameno-sagiri it seemed like the case was finally close. Adachi was arrested and Souji enjoyed the relative peace with his friends and loved ones right until the day he was going back to his city.

"Welcome to the velvet room"

He had just closed his eyes and now he was once again in the limo with Igor and Margaret. Thinking they were only wishing him goodbye, he was not expecting what they had to tell him.

"You're kidding…right?" Seeing the straight face on each of them was all the answer he needed "you're not kidding me."

"I am afraid not" Margaret replied.

What Igor informed him was that the mystery was not truly solved, and now the being truly responsible for the fog events was turning time for him, one year to be exact, so he could fulfill his duty. Even when Souji repeatedly asked who was behind this, Igor and Margaret were unable to provide him the answer he wanted, but to him it seemed like they were more unwilling to share that piece of information with him.

The good thing was that apart of retaining the knowledge of the last year and all the money he had amassed on the TV world, Souji had access of his compendium from the start and could now summon his persona in the real world. The downside was that certain events could not be changed, and if he tried to do so would reset him 12 hours to the past each time he tried.

Souji groaned, that means no Izanagi ripping Adachi in half. Not like that would stop him from doing it a few times, just for kicks.

"Well now, if there are no more questions, I believe this is your stop."

As Igor said that, Souji awoke in the real world and found himself back in time just as his train was arriving to Inaba.

"Great…"

* * *

One of the first things he did was going to the TV world to try and save the announcer, Mayumi Yamano. But as it turns out, saving her qualified as a reset, no matter which methods he used to avoid her unfortunate end. Giving her a sincere apology for failing her, Seta Souji abandoned the task of trying to save her and moved on to the next victim: Saki Konishi.

There was still the risk that saving her would merit another reset, but after recalling how Yosuke felt for losing her, Souji had to try at least.

Back to the present, Izanagi lowered Saki on the mattress set while Souji prepared for what he was about to do. Opening a backpack he'd stashed prior to getting Saki, Souji extracted several ropes and a few scarves he would be using on her. Looking at her sleeping form he couldn't help but be mesmerized by her allure; Saki's brown hair was spread over the pillow her head rested at, giving her a sexy look, not to mention that since she hadn't changed from her school uniform her long legs were exposed for him to admire. In her current position, her skirt hiked up a few inches above the regulated norm and gave Souji some dirty thoughts, as well as a perfectly normal reaction below the belt.

Shaking his head to clear the bad thoughts he was having, Souji reminded himself why he was doing this "I'm doing this for Yosuke. There's no way I'm letting him lose her again."

Clearing his head one last time, Souji went to work: first order of business was to silence her in case she woke up, so he grabbed a scarf and formed a knot in the middle of it and gagged her with it, careful of not waking her up. Tying it in the back of her head, he grabbed another scarf and covered her already gagged mouth with it in a way he had seen in old magazines where he had seen damsels in distress, a detective gag if he was not mistaken. Maybe he was exaggerating with the gagging, after all there was no one around the vicinity that might hear her scream, but after last reset he didn't want to take any chance.

Next order of business was tying her up; grabbing a small rope from the bundle, Souji moved her so she was face down on the bed while he tied her hands behind her back. Once that was done, he grabbed another rope and tied her ankles together.

Souji was gonna call it a day, but changed his mind at the last moment and decided to further restrain her, telling himself it was for the better even when he knew it was a lie. The fact was that Seta Souji had a fascination with bondage, one that might be viewed as taboo by society, which was why he kept it mostly to himself. No one, not even his girlfriend in the last timeline, knew about it, which was why he wondered how he was going to tell her in this new timeline. Having knowledge of future events guaranteed him they would get together wayyy before end of year, so he still had some time to think of a way to tell her without freaking her too much. Hell, maybe she was also into it if her way of acting was any proof.

Back to the task at hand, he grabbed a lengthy piece of rope and pulled Saki to a sitting position so he could tie it around her body, just below her chest. The idea of having her on a breast harness briefly crossed his mind before he pushed that thought away. He was keeping her here to save her from being thrown into the tv world, not to abuse of her state. Once he was done, he grabbed one more rope and tied her legs some more from below the knees and then repeated the process with the difference of tying it above her knees this time.

As a final act to ensure she remained here, Souji tied a rope to the one tying her ankles and then tied the other end to the bed frame to prevent her from hopping away or something. As he tied the final knot, Seta Souji stepped back to admire his work; a beautiful girl, bound, gagged and at his mercy, it was a good thing Souji was very honorable to even think of something like rape. He considered taking a photo with his cell for posterity, but realized how foolish that would be if someone ever saw it.

"No wonder Yosuke was enamored with her" Thinking of his best friend gave him the resolve of why he was doing this. "You owe me one, even if you never know about this."

Just as he was about to leave, Saki started stirring as she slowly regained consciousness. As he looked back at her, Souji felt a cold dread wash over him when he realized he forgot an important detail: the second scarf was to blindfold her, but he got carried away and gagged her with it and now he was about to pay the consequences.

Back to Saki, the girl was slowly returning to the world of the wake when she felt something on her mouth. Trying to cough to clear her mouth, she heard her voice muffled and realized not only was something foreign on her mouth, but there was also coiled around her hands and feet. In fact, her entire body seemed restrained by something that felt like…ROPE!

Recalling the previous events before losing consciousness, Saki hastily opened her eyes and frantically searched her surroundings thinking she was kidnapped (technically she was) just not for the reason she imagined. Breathing fast, as fast as one gagged could, her eyes landed on Souji and she seemed to calm a bit. She recognized the transfer student from yesterday when she saw him along Hana-chan and wondered why he was here.

"You?" Her question sounded more like an mmph, and Souji couldn't help but feel aroused even when his current situation was against him.

Gulping, Souji said the only thing that came to mind: "H-Hey there"

* * *

A.N.

To be continued?

Well, read and let me know what you think about it. As I said before, this is not a rape/abuse story even if it has certain elements that might be considered like that. Anyway, until next time (Maybe).

_**Demonwithasoul**_


	2. The Empress

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

A.N. Well, this story is receiving more attention that I imagined it would (which is a good thing). If this keeps up, I might add more chapters than I intended. Anyway, let me try something different in this chapter (And by different, I mean calling Souji by his other name).

* * *

"H-Hey there."

Not knowing what else to say, Narukami Yu remained silent and stared at Saki, while she did the same. Well, even if she wanted to say anything, it would come out unintelligible because of the gag silencing her.

For her part, Saki was confused by his presence here; did he somehow stumble upon her and was about to rescue her? From her brief encounter yesterday, Yu seemed like a nice guy to her, at least she hoped so because the alternative terrified her.

Starting to sweat, Yu shyly smiled at her to try to ease the tension, but seeing her eyes widen told him it had the opposite effect. "_Crap_"

In Yu's defense, it was an innocent smile, but when you're bound and gagged and alone with someone, and that someone smiles at you it does tend to raise alarms on your head, which was what now Saki was going through. In a heartbeat, Saki started screaming and trashed in bed trying to get free or at the very least get someone's attention, but Yu had done a good job with her binds and all she managed was to get exhausted. Panting, Saki stopped squirming and Yu took it as his cue to speak.

"Listen, you might…"

The moment she heard his voice, she renewed her efforts to get free.

"If you'd just let me..."

After her third interruption, Yu had enough and summoned Izanagi to hold her in place. Once she felt the invisible force from before, Saki panicked and directed her attention to him.

"As I was saying, I know how this looks, but believe me; it's for your own good."

"FOR MY OWN GOOD? YOU KIDNAPPED ME AND TIED ME UP YOU PSYCHO!" Of course, all Yu heard were several mmphs that only served to arouse him.

"_Bad Yu, stop thinking like that_!" Looking back at the bound girl, Yu cleared his head and proceeded to explain everything to her "This might sound crazy…What now?"

The beep of his cell interrupted him and Yu was forced to check his message "Give me a sec" upon flipping his phone he saw it was only his uncle, wondering where he was since it was late. Seeing the hour on his cell, realization dawned on Yu; several hours had passed since he abducted her and if he didn't want to raise suspicion he had to get home fast or else face another reset.

"Listen, I gotta go…" hearing those words caused Saki to resume her struggle but Yu paid no mind to her "I'll come back later to check on you and explain everything, just please trust me and stay put, ok?."

Saki gave him an incredulous look as Yu realized his choice of words "Oh, right, you're kinda tied up for the moment, he he." Seeing his small pun only made Saki glare at him even more, Yu quickly changed subject "W-Well, I'd leave you a tv to watch, but trust me when I say it's best for you stay away from them, if only for tonight"

If stares could kill, Saki would be charged of first degree murder by how she was looking at him. Feeling uncomfortable, Yu exited the place and with Izanagi's help he made a beeline to the house he shared with his uncle and cousin, leaving her alone to struggle. On the way back, Yu realized things could have gone worse all things considered. Asides his small slip up in her learning of his identity, somehow it hadn't merited a reset, and for the time being she was safe from the midnight channel.

"If only there was a simpler way." Hearing him, Izanagi told him it would be easier to just follow Saki to the tv world and defeat her shadow when it came, at his current level even his weakest persona could deal with it, but Yu discarded the idea "Nah, this is the best way."

Izanagi shook his head, but didn't contradict him. Who was he to go against himself.

The only thing that worried Yu was how he was going to convince Saki of not pressing charges against him once her danger was over. "Maybe I should just cut Adachi's balls and reset again."

* * *

The moment Yu left, Saki redoubled her efforts to free herself. If that pervert believed she was going to listen to him an stay out then he was dead wrong. After having no success in trying to untie her hands, Saki focused on untying her feet from the rope holding her to bed. It was a good thing he forgot to secure her to the head of the bed so she could maneuver her body to try and release the rope holding her legs. Easier said than done, her bonds weren't too tight as to stop the circulation of blood, but even so her hands were getting numb. While she searched the knot holding her in place, Saki realized why the rope wasn't too hard on her skin.

"_It's cotton rope_!" deranged as he was, at least he saved her from the pain and embarrassment of rope burns. In fact, the rope was starting to feel almost... nice on her. The way she felt it around her hands and naked legs, added to the feeling of helplessness it caused her, Saki couldn't help but let out a moan before she abruptly stopped "_WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING_!?"

Embarrassed for feeling like that, Saki focused on freeing herself to keep from thinking about that. After a couple of hours, she finally managed to untie the knot holding her to bed and jumped in joy, however it was short lived since she still had to untie herself and escape this place. Moving to the edge of bed, Saki planted her feet on the floor and carefully stood up. At first she lost her balance and fell on her ass back to bed, however that didn't discourage her. After the second try she managed to stand without falling and now came the hard part; not falling face first on the floor. Making a small hop to test her balance, Saki was pleased when she quickly got a hang of it, and so she started her search for something to cut herself free.

"_Dammit! Is there nothing sharp here_?"

After an hour of searching, her frustration increased when she found out Yu had removed every last knife and glass object from the room. Dropping on her knees, she again tried to untie her feet, but her numb hands were useless at this point. As a last ditch effort, she tried to remove her gag by rubbing her face against the mattress and was partially successful in removing the over the mouth gag, but her cleave gag was too tight to get off. Gagged or not, she tried calling for help with all her strength, but even if someone was nearby they wouldn't hear her muffled cries. Defeated, Saki slumped down on the floor and blinked back tears. Here she was, bound and gagged in the mercy of a sexual predator and there was nothing she could do about it.

As the hours flew by, Saki got bored out of her mind. If he was going to have his way with her, the very least he could have done was left the Tv on to kill time until he…"_Wait a sec, where did that tv come from_?"

Saki distinctively recalled Yu saying there was no tv in here for her 'safety', and she would definitely remember seeing the big flat screen in front of her. As she pondered on these questions, the tv turned on by itself.

"What the…?"

* * *

As amusing as seeing the girl hopping like a rabbit was, Izanami knew she had to end it soon. With only minutes before midnight, the deity gave one last laugh at her attempts to get free and then materialized a gateway large enough to get her to the tv world. It took a few moments for the girl to spot the tv and when she did, her expression was priceless.

"Mhmat phe…?'

Giving the flat screen a gentle push, Izanami grinned as she saw the terrified look on Saki's face when the tv fell on top of her. Thinking it was going to crush her, Saki curled trying to protect herself, but instead of hitting her like she thought it would it actually transported her to the tv world.

If she was to be honest, Izanami had to give him credit for making his actions more fun this time around. She couldn't wait to see what else Yu would do from now on.

"Nice try, chosen one, but if you're breaking the rules, then so am I."

* * *

A.N.

Well, that's chapter 2. Now the plot is really deviating from canon.

I've left the identity of Yu's girlfriend out for the time being so people can choose which girl they would like to see paired with him, of it they want a full out harem story. So far it seems Rise is at the lead, followed by a Harem, and then Yukiko. I'll wait until chapter 4 to reach a decision from the feedback I get.

Also, if any readers of other story (bound by fate) reads this, let me reassure you by saying I'm hard at work with the next chapter. With 11 pages done, I'm halfway there with the next update.

Until next time

_**Demonwithasoul**_


	3. The Reverse Empress

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"_Thoughts_"

A.N. Wow! I was not expecting this feedback from last chapter. As gratitude for everyone that reviewed and added this story to their favorites, I decided to publish this chapter sooner than intended.

Enjoy.

* * *

Closing the door behind him, Yu slump against it in relief; His uncle had bought his lie of where he had been by telling him he had gotten a job as a janitor at the hospital (which he now had to get to avoid any suspicion), to make matters easier Nanako asked them if they were fighting which also helped divert attention from him "T_hank you Nanako_"

Making a mental note of taking her to Junes tomorrow, Yu was broken out of his thoughts when his clock chimed 12 o'clock. Remembering he still had to get back to Saki, he formulated a plan to slip out of the house quietly when suddenly his television turned on. Expecting the TV to show an empty screen, Yu was dumbstruck when Saki's image appeared on it.

"_What the heck_?" Before leaving her Yu made sure there wasn't a single TV in her vicinity, so this couldn't be possible. Looking closely, Yu clearly saw that Saki was still partially tied, which told him it was happening now.

Leaving the house as silent as he could, Yu summoned his fastest persona and hastily made his way to her. He only hoped that he wasn't too late.

"_Hold on Saki_!"

* * *

Expecting the flat tv to shatter on her, Saki was stunned when it seemed like she entered the screen like it was made of water. The shock was instantly replaced by fear when she now found herself free-falling through god knows where before abruptly coming to a stop. Groaning from the fall, Saki slowly opened her eyes and was relieved to find she landed at home, unfortunately since her house now looked creepier than she remember it to be, and she was still tied, she could discard the idea of this being a bad dream she was waking up from.

Taking a moment to inspect her surroundings, Saki smiled when she spotted some broken bottles. With renowned strength, she crawled towards them and after fumbling a bit she found a nice shard to start cutting herself free. Her hands were quite numb by now, causing her to drop the shard a few times, but after persisting she was rewarded when the rope holding her hands was cut free. Uncoiling the rope around her hands she massaged them to return circulation on them, once she was satisfied she removed the rope below her bosom more easily.

Once free from the waist up, Saki's next priority was to remove her gag, which she did and took a large breath of air.

"Freedom!" Saki smiled to herself in satisfaction. She still had to untie her legs and leave wherever the hell she was, but at least she was halfway there. Feeling like she was being watched, Saki started working the knots on her thighs when she heard someone laughing.

"W-Who's there?"

"**The little whore can't wait to get free, huh**?"

Saki froze when she recognized her own voice, but that was impossible, was it?

Stepping out of the shadow, an identical copy of herself appeared before her. The only notable difference was that this Saki possessed unnatural yellow eyes and a higher pitched voice.

"Am...Am I dreaming?"

"**Is that what you really think?**" shadow Saki pinched her and couldn't help but laugh when Saki tried to crawl away from her. With just a few steps, Shadow Saki was in front of her real self and smirked smugly when she saw the fear on her face. "**Always complaining how your parents hate you, how people talk behind your back, how you have to endure working for the enemy. What a whiny bitch**."

"That's not true!" Saki covered her ears, but she could still hear her shadow as clear as ever.

"**You make it seem like you care for everyone, even for that dumb kid Yosuke, but deep down we know the truth**" kneeling next to her, Shadow Saki tossed a ripped movie ticket, the one Yosuke had given her before, at her face"**You couldn't care less about them**."

"Shut up!"

"**Admit it**: **You couldn't stand either of them. That's why you were working at Junes, to save enough money and leave this place even if that earned you the wrath of your family. But you wanna know what's funnier: ****You enjoyed all the attention you were getting, especially when it came from your Hana-chan. Oh how you enjoyed stirring him along like he had a chance with us. What a joke!**" Lying next to Saki, the shadow whispered to her "**And to top it all off, you're the biggest pervert this town has ever known. I know you enjoyed being tied up, ****every last second** of it. The way those soft ropes felt on us" Shadow Saki started caressing her body** "how our voice was muffled by that gag, feeling like a damsel in distress waiting for her prince to rescue us. But we both know you'd settle for that gray haired boy to come and have his way with us. If you don't believe me, ask the dampness in your panties if I'm lying.**"

By now, Saki had curled up in a fetal position and had her eyes closed and her hands on her ears.

"**Don't worry; I'll keep your secret, after all, you are me and I am you.**"

"SHUT UP!" Saki screamed at the top of her lungs "THAT'S NOT TRUE!YOU DON'T KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME! YOU'RE NOT ME!"

Shadow Saki smiled in satisfaction after hearing her "Say it! Say it again!"

"I SAID: YOU. ARE. NOT. ME!"

Grinning like a madman, Shadow Saki felt a surge of power and began transforming right before her. Where once a copy of Saki stood, now a large multicolored deformed slug version of herself was in place. The slug Saki carried a beer keg instead of a shell, and also possessed wavy brown hair where her head was.

"**I am a shadow, the true self**"

"Oh my god…" Unable to run because of her binds, Saki watched in horror as her deformed imitation prepared to kill her. Looking down on her, Shadow Saki gave her slug version of an evil grin.

"**Do not fear, you'll finally get what you wanted: To be left alone...in death**."

"Not today"

Both Saki and her shadow turned to the new arrivals just as Izanagi slammed against the shadow. Unable to tear her eyes away from the fight, Saki didn't see Yu until he was next to her with sword in hand.

"No! Get away from me!" Unable to run, Saki closed her eyes and waited for the slash that never came. Feeling him cutting her legs free, Saki opened her eyes and found him offering her a hand.

"I told you to stay away from TV's" Yu offered with a grin.

Still wary of him, but not wanting to be close to the monsters fighting, Saki took his hand and accepted his help to get away from the fight.

As for the persona, Izanagi easily dealt with Saki's shadow with a Zyodine and finished it off by cleaving her in half. Defeated, shadow Saki returned to her original size and stumbled towards Saki, who when she saw her approaching tried to step back.

"You must accept your other self" Yu told her "or else she's just going to keep coming."

"Accept her? Are you crazy!?" Saki recalled everything her shadow said about her, including the embarrassing parts and secrets, and couldn't bring herself to accept it. Hearing this, Shadow Saki looked devastated and Saki felt bad for her. Shadow or not, it was still a part of her.

Laying a hand on her shoulder, Yu encouraged her and after giving her shadow one last look, Saki made her choice.

"Fine. I'll admit everything you said about me was true." Saki blushed as she recalled that part about her enjoying being tied up "You are me, and… I am you. We're one and the same."

Genuinely smiling, her shadow vanished and in her place was now a humanoid female with a psychedelic dress and knee high boots. The persona Tsunade returned to card form and floated to Saki's hands. Saki grasped her new persona and promptly stumbled back, only for Yu to catch her. The combined effort of accepting her shadow, plus being tied up several hours finally took its toll on her.

"Take it easy." Yu said and then gulped by the look she sent his way.

"Don't think I've forgotten it was you who kidnapped me and tied me up like salami." Saki sent him a cold stare and then asked "Do you know a way out of this place?"

Not trusting his voice, Yu merely nodded while he helped her leave the shadow liquor store. Using him as support to walk, both Yu and Saki walked through the dense fog. Fortunately, Teddie had already given him a pair of glasses so he could see clearly.

"Did you…did you hear what my shadow said to me?"

"Huh?" Yu recalled when he and Yosuke heard her suppressed thoughts after she died on the last timeline and said "N-No, why do you ask?'

"No reason" Saki quickly replied, turning away so he couldn't see the blush on her. Satisfied that her secret was safe, she moved on to the next question: "You think now would be a good time to explain to me WHY you kidnapped me?"

"It can wait until tomorrow."

Saki gave him a look that left no room for discussion and Yu sighed, she did deserve the truth, so he started explaining the 'modified' version to her, leaving key elements out (like his knowledge of the future and the resets). After hearing his tale, Saki only had one thing to say.

"Oh, I see" With that said, she returned her attention to the road ahead.

"That's it?" Yu expected her to call him crazy or at the very least be a little skeptical about it, but she just shrugged at his queries.

"After seeing a slug shadow of myself trying to kill me in bizarroland, I can believe you."

Satisfied he wasn't going to jail anytime soon, Yu exhaled before changing subject: "You know, Yosuke is not a bad guy once you get to know him."

"Were are you getting at?" Saki eyed him warily.

"I'm just saying, give him a chance and get to know him better. You'd be surprised by what he has to offer."

Yu didn't know what he said wrong, because the moment he said those words, Saki turned red in embarrassment.

"Y-You told me you didn't hear anything" Thinking her newly discovered fascination with bondage was out, Saki wished the ground beneath her would open and be swallowed by it, anything to escape her embarrassment.

"I didn't hear anything!" Yu defended himself and quickly added "is just that yesterday I saw how you looked at him when you thought he wasn't looking, and I know he really cares about you for you to be harboring a grudge against him like that."

Ok, it was mostly a lie, but there was some truth in his words. At least Yu thought.

Realizing she was acting just as her shadow said, Saki felt ashamed with herself; she complained about people talking behind her back only for her to do the same to Yosuke. Looking down, Saki remained silent for a long time and Yu didn't comment anything else thinking he had screwed things up for his friend.

As they reached the exit, Yu helped Saki enter the TV when she said: "You're right, I've been treating Hana-chan wrong all this time, always hiding my contempt for him behind a mask when he's been nothing but nice to me" Looking up, Saki wiped her tears and looked at Yu with determination "From now on I'll treat him the way he deserves. But no promises, after all; he kinda annoys me from time to time."

"If he does annoy you, don't feel bad to tell him." Yu repeated the same words she told him that time, causing both of them to laugh a bit. As they stared at each other, a voice rang inside his head:

"Thou art I…And I am thou…Thou hast established a new bond…Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Empress Arcana…"

As the social link was established, Yu was making heads of what just happened "_But the empress arcana is with Margaret, what is going on_?"

He was brought back to reality when Saki called to him "Are you ok? You froze there for a minute."

Dismissing her concerns, Yu motioned her to enter the TV while he followed. Yu wondered about his social link, but for the time being he was pleased with himself; not only did he managed to save Saki from her ordeal, but somehow he did it without causing a reset. The only thing that worried him was how did that TV appeared on the room he rented, he was sure it wasn't there last time he went.

Tomorrow he would have to visit Margaret and ask what was going on.

* * *

After Yu dropped her home, Saki was both relieved and mad; relieved to be back home after her ordeal, but mad since it seemed that her parents didn't even notice she was kidnapped. The only acknowledgement she got from her dad was a grunt that made her angry, but whatever reply Saki had for him she decided to kept it to herself. She was too exhausted from her 'adventure' and the only thing she wanted was to take a long hot bath, crawl on her futon and sleep all night (and a good part of the next day).

After changing into her sleepwear (a nightgown and panties) Saki was about to lie down when she directed her attention to her drawer. Blushing a bit, she opened it and grabbed a scarf that she brought with her to the futon. Coiling it around her hands, Saki used her teeth to fasted a knot as best she could so that her hands were tied. Satisfied with her work, she crawled beneath her sheets and turned the light off.

Saki was still pissed at Yu for kidnapping her, but she was forever grateful to him for introducing her to this new world of pleasure.

* * *

A.N.

Seems the poll is turning in favor of a Harem. The question now is: should it only include Rise and Yukiko? Become a love triangle? Or include another girl? I'm open to all suggestions.

Until then.

_**Demonwithasoul**_


	4. The Magician

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"_Thoughts_"

* * *

"Welcome to the velvet room."

Yu politely nodded to Margaret's direction and noticed that Igor was not on the limo. "Big nose guy is on an errand, I take?"

"That is correct" Margaret chuckled at his description of her master "Although I would refrain from calling him that on his presence since he get's rather sensitive about the length of his nose."

"I'll keep that in mind" Taking his usual seat, Narukami Yu explained the motive of his visit "Last night…something happened between Saki and me."

"Ah yes. You established the empress social link" Margaret opened her compendium and flipped to where the arcana was "The empress arcana is a diligent force that will help you on your quest for the truth."

"I know that, but I thought we had that link between us" Yu pointed to himself and her before Margaret dismissed his concern.

"Not to worry, everything is as it should be."

"What do you mean?"

"Originally you were to establish that link with her, but due to outside interference that was not possible, that is why the next person in line established the empress link with you. And that person was me."

"Oh, I understand…kind of."

Seeing he was still troubled, Margaret did something out of the ordinary and approached Yu. Seeing her getting too close for comfort, Yu got nervous.

"M-Margaret?"

Giving him a sultry look, she leveled her face to his until their lips were almost rubbing against each other "If what worries you is the loss of our link, you need not to fear; we are still connected, maybe in ways you are yet to realize."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It means that I shall continue to assist you with the compendium as my duty states." Margaret said, back in full business mode. Yu had to blink twice, wondering if she really said those things or it was only his mind playing tricks on him.

Moving on, Yu asked her about the mysterious TV that transported Saki, to which Margaret told him: "Ah yes, about that. It would seem like the force behind the mystery is willing to allow you to make some changes in the timeline, as long as you face the consequences of doing so."

"Which means…"

"If you cheat, then she will cheat" Margaret finished his sentence, ignoring or not caring if she had revealed more about this mysterious being to Yu.

"_So it's a woman_" Yu had a bit more info about this deity, but it was still not enough to discover her identity.

Retaking her seat, Margaret stared at Yu's pants pocket "Now, if my understanding of that device on you is not wrong, you are going to be late for school."

"Huh?" Retrieving his cell from his pocket, Yu realized she was right. "How did you…never mind, I'm running late."

"Until your next visit then, Narukami-san" Margaret watched him leave and then smiled to herself. After seeing yesterday's events, Margaret was curious about this concept called 'bondage' and who better to show her the ropes than him.

* * *

Before class started:

While the group discussed about the creepy fish eyed guy that approached Yukiko in the morning, Yosuke mentioned to Yu something about his dream girl.

"That's weird, Saki-sempai didn't come to school today and she hasn't replied to my calls." Yosuke said as he inspected his phone for the third time in a row.

"_You really can't take a hint_" Chie said, feeling almost bad for him, but one look at her broken 'Trial of the dragon' DVD and all pity she had for him evaporated.

"Why don't you try calling her?" Yu offered.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Finding her contact, Yosuke dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. The longer Yosuke waited on line, the more worried Yu got. Everything was happening like last time, but he made sure to save her this time around, so there was nothing to worry about.

"Ah! Saki-sempai, good morning! Hope I didn't wake you up?" Hearing his friend talking on the phone eased Yu's concerns.

* * *

The ringtone of her cell woke Saki from a very pleasant dream she was having, and she cursed whoever disturbed her sleep. Grabbing her phone, Saki took a few moments to answer since she still had her hands tied, and brought it to her ear "Hello?"

"Ah! Saki-sempai, good morning! Hope I didn't wake you up?"

"Hana-chan. Good morning to you too. No, no, you didn't wake me" Saki lied as she spotted her clock and realized it was already past 7 "_Not like I was planning to attend school today_."

Back to the call, Saki asked "What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing really; I was just worried since you hadn't returned my calls." Yosuke lamely answered "Maybe something was wrong with the phone signal yesterday."

Saki was well aware of his phone calls, that she deliberately chose to ignore, and said "Yeah that must be it. _Jeez, can't you take a hint_?" Saki kept that last part to herself when she recalled yesterday's events and instantly felt bad for going back to old habits.

Thinking he had disturbed whatever she was doing, Yosuke said "Anyway, I was just calling to see if you were ok. I'll leave you to your things now."

"Wait!" Yosuke was about to hang up when Saki stopped him "Actually, about that movie you asked me, yeah, I'll go with you."

"Really!? I mean; yeah, sure. That'd be great."

"Ok then, I have to hang up now. Bye."

Hanging up, she put the cell away and tried to undo the knot of her hands when another problem presented itself "_Crap! I tore the ticket yesterday_."

Her first priority today was getting another ticket at the movie theater…that is if she could undo the knot she herself did last night.

* * *

The moment she hanged up. Yosuke raised his fist and jumped in joy. "ALLRIGHT!"

The rest of the class looked at him like he was crazy, but Yu was glad for him "_You're welcome, partner_"

Ignoring them, Yosuke took his seat and turned to Yu "guess the midnight channel really shows you your soul mate after all. Last night I saw Saki-sempai on it."

"Did you now" Yu followed along. "Good for you."

"Yeah" Yosuke then looked thoughtful "but it's weird, for a moment I could have sworn she was bound and gagged."

"R-Really?" Yu nervously started sweating.

"Ugh, what is wrong with you? you pervert" Chie smacked Yosuke on the back of his head.

"OWW! What gives?"

"You and your dirty thoughts, that's why!" Chie stared at him.

"What did I do!? I only told him what I saw on TV last night."

"Yeah, one of your deranged fantasies no less" Chie spat back "Bound and gagged girls, really!?"

As Chie and Yosuke continued to argue, Yu noticed something very interesting with Yukiko; the moment Chie mentioned the words bound and gagged , Yukiko blushed and looked down at the hem of her skirt.

"If you're into that, save it for your own time, but don't come here and shove it to our face!" Chie said to a mortified Yosuke (who everyone was now looking at) and said to Yukiko "Can you believe this guy?"

"Y-Yeah...right." Yukiko replied and fidgeted with her hands, a thing Yu noticed all too well.

"_Don't tell me she's also into it_" The arrival of Morooka forced Yu to save that thought for another time, besides, he had other priorities; tomorrow she would be kidnapped by Namatame and he would need to go to the TV world and save her, but once she was safe and sound he would see if his hunch was correct about her.

* * *

After school the group headed to Junes to discuss their venture into the TV world when Yu spotted Saki attending tables. As it would be, Yosuke spotted her as well and waved at her.

"Konishi-sempai"

"Hana-chan" Saki greeted them with a smile, however Yu could see that her gaze lingered on him a bit longer before she directed her attention back to Yosuke "Forcing your friends to buy from Junes again."

"It's not my fault they enjoy the cuisine here so much"

"And by enjoy do you mean those steaks you promised and never delivered?" Chie's commentary caused Saki to giggle and Yosuke to pout.

"Are you still hung up on that?"

Pretending she still had work to do, Saki bid farewell but not before giving Yu a _we need to talk_ look. Getting the hint, Yu told them he was going to get some drinks and approached the vending machine. As he expected, Saki was waiting nearby and quickly approached him:

"We need to talk about last night?"

"I know" Yu said as he got several drinks for them "Come to our table and I'll fill you in on what we know so far."

"But we can't…wait! You mean they know what happened last night?" Saki got worried at this, but Yu erased her concerns.

"I haven't told them about last night, but they know about the TV world." Yu said to her "come seat with us and we'll explain what we know so far."

Recalling the story Yu told him last night, Saki was still not convinced with his explanation but so far his actions did save her life, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Looking to where the group was seated, Saki added "Ok, let's go, just one thing; don't tell them about…you know…the whole tied up thing."

Knowing what she meant, Yu said "My lips are sealed. Oh wait! it was the other way around."

"Haha, very funny."

* * *

Yosuke was pleasantly surprised when Saki came to seat with them, but when she and Yu explained to him and Chie about last night's events and how he happened to save her, he was mad at his partner "Dude, what gives! Why didn't you call us if Saki-sempai was in danger?"

"And why didn't you say anything about it at school?" Chie added.

"That's actually my fault." Saki timidly raised her hand, saving Yu the heat he would have gotten from his friends "I told him not to tell anyone thinking they would think of us as crazy, if I had known about you three entering the TV world I would have told him it was ok for him to tell you. Sorry."

buying her half truth, Yosuke gave her an apologetic look "You don't have to apologize, sempai."

"Oh. When you put it that way, then I guess Yu was only following your wish." Chie said and then looked at Yu "But still, you should have called us to help you."

Thinking fast, Yu said: "It all happened in the heat of the moment, and I didn't want to risk your well-being since I'm the only one with a persona."

"I guess you have a point, but still; you could have called us before going in there alone." Yosuke replied, more bothered about not being him the one to save Saki than about Yu going in there alone.

"Forgive me" Yu offered to them "next time I'll call you the moment something like this happens."

"Let's just hope nothing like this ever happens again." Chie said, oblivious about Yukiko's soon-to-be kidnapping.

Taking a decision, Yosuke slammed his fist on the table "That's it! If we are going to stop this from happening again, then we need to get our own persona. Yu, let's go inside the TV world!"

"Are you crazy" Chie exclaimed "don't you remember what happened last time we went there?"

"Hana-chan, maybe we should leave it like that." Saki said, remembering her frightful encounter with her shadow.

Ignoring their advice, Yosuke stared at Yu until he was forced to agree. "Alright, let's go."

"Thanks partner" Yosuke clapped his hand with Yu's while Chie shook her head.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"_I hope so too._" Yu thought.

He would need Yosuke's and Chie's help in the upcoming battles, and the only way for them to awaken their personas was for them to face themselves in the TV world. The only thing that worried Yu was how Yosuke would react when facing his other self now that Saki was alive this time around.

* * *

A.N.

Not much to say, since the plot will stay more o less the same as in the game, with the exception of Saki joining the team (as well as more bondage related scenes later on).

Changing subject: the people have spoken! This will be a harem story with all the girls (except Naoto and Saki since they'll be paired with Kanji and Yosuke respectively). Rest assured that Ai and Yumi will have their spotlight, as well as certain girls that will be revealed in future chapters. From the start of this chapter it's pretty obvious that Margaret is one of them.

Expect next chapter tomorrow or this weekend. Until next time.

_**Demonwithasoul**_


	5. The Reverse Magician

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"_Thoughts_"

A.N. For every good chapter I like to write there is always one that is quite a chore to do. Sadly, this is one of those.

Let's get this one out of the way.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yosuke, I already told you Saki has her own persona now. She can hold her own."

"And she can speak for herself" Saki said as she stepped between Yu and Yosuke. "Now, are we going in or not?"

Seeing she was dead set on going, Yosuke stopped trying to convince her to stay "Fine, let's get this show on the road." Making sure there wasn't anyone nearby that might see them, Yosuke grabbed a backpack and some ropes.

"W-Wait wait! What's the rope for?" Saki asked.

"Huh?" Yosuke looked from the rope in his hands to Saki, who seemed distressed for some reason, and handed one end to Chie "It's a lifeline, just in case we lose our way inside the TV."

"Why are you giving it to me?" Chie asked as Yosuke started tying the other end around his waist.

"You'll stay behind to pull us out if something goes wrong."

"What! Why me?"

"Because you have a monstrous strength for a girl and..." Seeing that was the wrong thing to say (judging by her stare directed at him) Yosuke quickly added "and because I trust you."

Not entirely convinced, Chie sighed "Something tells me this is a bad idea."

"We'll be fine, relax." Once he was satisfied with his knot, Yosuke handed another rope for Yu and Saki. "Here you go."

"I'll take my chances without it." Yu said, preferring to be the one tying up than being tied up.

Saki also passed. As tempting as is sounded having that rope tied around her, she didn't trust herself to conceal her reaction to them. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Shrugging, Yosuke put the ropes away and the 3 of them entered the large TV.

"Wait, listen to me! Think about this for a second." Chie yelled behind them while holding the rope, but the trio was already halfway inside the TV. After a few seconds she felt a tug and the rope was snapped in the screen. "NO!" Dropping to her knees, Chie looked at the TV not knowing what to do now.

"I knew this was a bad idea."

* * *

"Sensei! You came to visit!"

Yu barely took a step inside the TV world and was immediately assaulted by Teddie. After showing off Izanagi's abilities last time, Yu should have expected this, not that it bothered him; Having Teddie idolize him sooner than intended almost made him feel like he hadn't gone back in time one year.

"Good to see you too, Teddie."

"Sensei? What's with you, you round furball?" Yosuke eyed Teddie curiously.

Unlatching himself from Yu, Teddie turned to Yosuke and looked at him with distrust "You again? You seem to come here after people get dumped in my world. That's beary suspicious of you."

"This is just the second time I've come here. And what about him?" He said, pointing to Yu.

"What about sensei?"

"He also came here and…you know what: forget I said anything."

During all this, Saki remained silent as she observed their interaction between them. Seeing this, Yosuke introduced her to Teddie.

"Oh, forgot to tell you Sempai, this is Tedd…"

"KYAAA! You're so cute!" Saki squeaked and hugged the surprised Teddie.

"Cute?" Yu asked no one in particular.

"Are you kidding me!?" After seeing his crush smother the round furball, Yosuke hung his head "I can't catch a break."

"There there" Yu patted his back.

While Saki hugged him, Teddie's nose smelled something familiar about her. "Wait a sec: you're the person that was tossed in here yesterday!"

"Oh, about that…" Yu told him about his incursion to the shadow world last night and how he saved Saki. By the end of the tale, Teddie had stars on his eyes.

"Wow sensei! You're ta man!"

Tired of this, Yosuke asked "Can we go now, please?"

"Go? Go where?" Teddie was lost.

"We're going to try an awaken Yosuke's persona" Yu explained to Teddie. "Which reminds me; can you give them some glasses?"

"Of course sensei!" grabbing some glasses from his pocket, Teddie handed an orange pair to Yosuke and a brown pair to Saki "You'll need these to see your way around.

"Amazing!" Saki was delighted by her field of vision "It's like there is no fog around us. Thank you so much Teddie."

"I have to hand it to ya" Yosuke said "these are quite handy to wear."

"Why thank you" Teddie was glad for the praise "but to be honest; I don't think you can summon your persona like sensei here."

"And the respect I had for you is now gone"

While Teddie had his back to her, Saki saw the zipper from his suit and reached out to unzip him. "Why are you wearing that suit anyway?"

"Wait, don't…!" Yu tried to stop her, but the damage was already done. When Teddie's head fell off, it revealed there was no one inside it, causing Saki and Yosuke to scream.

* * *

After putting aside Teddie's peculiar 'condition', the group followed Yu's suggestion and decided to check the liquor store.

"Do we really need to go there?" Saki said as she walked alongside them.

"Sempai, you don't have to come if you don't want to" Yosuke offered but she shook her head.

"It's ok Hana-chan. I'll manage."

Yosuke didn't look convinced, but decided to leave it at that. As for Yu, he was already formulating a plan to save his friend from hearing what his shadow would say to him. The moment shadow Yosuke appears, Izanagi would swiftly deal with it so that Yosuke could accept his persona. Yeah, that was what he would do.

Inspecting the area, Yosuke looked at Yu "If this is sempai's shadow world, shouldn't I look for a Junes version or…?"

"**I hope Junes goes bankrupt**."

"**Because of Junes, this place has become a graveyard**."

The guys looked around searching for the person saying those things while Saki's eyes widened; those were the things she would usually thought before last night.

"Dammit! Who's saying those things!?" Breaking into a sprint, Yosuke entered the liquor store, ignoring Saki calling him.

"Hana-chan, wait!"

Expecting this, Yu ran after him ready to deal with the shadow. Entering the store, as expected, shadow Yosuke had just appeared and was approaching his friend.

"Izanagi!"

Shadow Yosuke had not time to react when Yu's persona materialized and stabbed him in the stomach, followed by a Ziodyne that zapped what little strength he had.

* * *

"Welcome to the velvet room."

Yu took a moment to realize he was no longer in the liquor store and was in fact in the all too familiar limo "Don't tell me: reset?"

"I'm afraid so" Margaret gave him an apologetic look as Igor spoke.

"There are certain events you cannot change. This is one of them."

"But I don't get it? Last time I dealt with Yosuke's shadow as well. This shouldn't count as a reset."

"Are you sure it was the same as before?" Igor smirked "is there anything you didn't do different this time around?"

Yu was about to say no, but realized what Igor was hinting at. Last time, Yosuke had to face himself before accepting his shadow, which involved listening to the harsh truth inside him, but this time he defeated his shadow before it could even utter a single word.

"I get it now; I can't interfere while my friends face themselves." Yu silently cursed realizing he would have to let Yosuke face himself before coming to terms with his shadow.

"Precisely" Igor replied "Now that you understand there are things you cannot change, I bid you farewell until next time."

* * *

Waking up in bed, Yu stared at the clock next to his bed.

"_5:37 am_" In twelve hours he would try again, only this time he would be forced to take a back seat during most of the fight.

Twelve hours later:

Yosuke barged inside the liquor store and searched for the person saying those things.

"**When are you going to learn Saki**!" Yosuke recognized the voice of Saki's father "**You are the heir of our liquor store. Why are you humiliating us by working for the competition?"**

"What's going on here?" Stepping around, Yosuke stepped on something and when he looked down he found the ticket he had given to Saki before, only this one was ripped and crumpled.

"**I never gathered the courage to tell him**."

Yosuke froze when he heard Saki's voice, but she was right there next to Yu and Teddie.

Saki herself was as surprised as he was "But I defeated my shadow!"

"It's not your shadow" Yu grimly told her.

"**You know what I think of you Hana-chan**?" Yosuke heard her say "**You are annoying**."

"Don't listen to her!" Saki yelled at him, but he focused on the other voice.

"**I've** **only treated him nice because he's the son of the manager at Junes. Always with his head held high like he was so important, how annoying he is**."

Staring at Saki, Yosuke looked at her for any signs that told him this wasn't true "That's not true, right sempai?"

Unable to meet her gaze, Saki looked away "Hana-chan, I…it's true. I used to think like that" looking back at him, Saki's heart clenched by how heartbroken he seemed "But I was the one wrong! You have been nothing but nice to me, always there for when I needed help, even when I said I didn't need it, or when I was down and you came out of your way just to try and cheer me up. I'll always regret how I took you for granted. Please believe me!"

"**Bitch, please! He's not that dumb to fall twice for that**." Saki and the others saw shadow Yosuke finally making his presence known.

"W-What's going on!?" Teddie was stunned "How can his shadow manifest like that!?"

Yu pretended to be stunned as well, but on the inside he hated not being able to do something to stop Yosuke's shadow from saying anything else.

"**As for you**" He pointed to Yosuke "**what a pathetic excuse of a man! I pity you, I really do. Not being able to handle the truth**!"

"Who are you?"

"**Really? Do you need to ask**?" Shadow Yosuke looked incredulous "**I'm you, dumbass**."

"Me!? But that's impossible!"

Shadow Yosuke laughed at his other self's response and added "**Look at you! Coming here, trying to act all brave to impress a girl that clearly hates your guts."**

"That's not…!" Saki started to say, but he interrupted her.

"**Shut up you whore! I'll deal with you later!" **Satisfied his words shut her mouth, he focused again on Yosuke** "Now, where was I? Ah yes! I was telling you how pathetic you really are. You pretended to come here and act like a hero but what you're really after is some novelty in your life**. **When you came to this dump of a town you resigned yourself to live a boring, unfulfilled life here, but thanks to the new guy you stumbled on this brand new world full of exciting new things**. **However, once again, you were left behind when they obtained their persona's before you**."

"That doesn't make sense at all!"

"**Too complicated for you? Let me summarize it in words you can understand: You are jealous of them**."

"You're lying!" Yosuke screamed at him.

"**Am I? Look deep inside you and tell me yourself**."

As much as he wanted to deny it, Yosuke knew that some of those words were true.

"**You don't have to say anything; your silence tells me everything**."

"Shut up!" Yosuke yelled at him "You're so full of crap!"

"**I am you, how can I be full of**…"

"YOU ARE NOT ME! YOU NEVER WERE AND YOU'LL NEVER BE ME!"

"**Thank you**" Shadow Yosuke smiled as his body started expanding into what looked like a ninja looking being with the lower body of a frog. **"Let me repay you by squashing you like an ant."**

Just as Yu was about to unleash his persona, Saki beat him to the punch: "Persona!"

Materializing above her, Tsunade let loose a barrage of kicks on Yosuke's shadow, finishing off with a bufu that encased Shadow Yosuke in ice.

"You had no right to tell Hana-chan that!" Yu noticed Saki looked furious, even more so than when he had her tied against her will.

"Amazing Saki-chan!" Teddie praised Saki, thinking she had defeated him, when the ice started cracking and the shadow was free again.

"**Nice try, but after how you've treated me all this time, I've become immune to your coldness 'sempai' .**"

Launching a Garu at Saki, Tsunade defended her using her body as a shield. "Tsunade!"

"Izanagi!"

Not waiting to be told twice, Yu's persona stepped in defense of Saki's with a Zionga that shook pseudo-Jiraiya to the core. Shrugging the attack, he jumped away from Izanagi's reach and turned several large screens that showed people talking bad about Yosuke. Just like back then Yosuke was in denial from what his shadow showed him and was slowly being engulfed by the darkness , so Yu punched him on the face to break him from his spell.

"Oww! What the heck?!"

"Snap out of it." Yu told him "You like her, don't you?"

Looking to his left, Yosuke was relieved that Saki was too engrossed on the fight to pay attention to them.

"Relax, I get the feeling she knows about it." Yu told him: "Even if what he said was true, who cares? You like her, from that you are certain, that's the only thing that matters."

Embarrassed his not-so-secret affection for Saki was so openly known but pushing it aside for now, Yosuke came to terms with himself.

"'You're right Yu. Actually, I already knew all that, but it was too hard to accept it. Ever since coming to Inaba I acted like a fool and adopted a painfully pathetic attitude so I could deal with others. But no matter what that shadow says about me, I know my feelings for her are real."

Satisfied, Yu offered him a hand that Yosuke accepted.

"He is part of me. That is who I really am."

"**N-Nooooo, You're annoying**!" Weakened by Yosuke's acceptance, Pseudo-jiraiya did not notice when his legs were frozen by Tsunade, leaving him wide open for Izanagi to finish him off with a Zyodine. Defeated, pseudo-jiraiya shrunk back to his original and looked up as Yosuke approached him.

""I'm sorry I denied you" mimicking Yu's actions, Yosuke offered his shadow a hand "You are me, and I am you."

Shadow Yosuke smiled and accepted his hand to later vanish and in his place stood the persona Jiraiya. In a flash of blue, Jiraiya disappeared and rejoined Yosuke.

"So this is my persona." He was so marveled by his new persona that he didn't see Saki until she was right next to him.

"Hana-chan, what that shadow said…" Saki shook her head "No; what I used to think about you, I'm sorry. I know it's much to ask, but I hope you can somehow learn to forgive me."

Looking at her, Yosuke said: "Sempai, you have nothing to apologize for. I know sometimes I can be too annoying…"

"That's not…"

Holding up a hand, Yosuke stopped her "Please, let me finish. What my other self said was true; it wouldn't be fair to put all the blame solely on you when I was also to blame, hell, you've told me yourself I'm annoying sometimes, he he."

"Hana-chan…" Saki stared at him with sadness on her eyes.

"Let's put all of this in the past. What do you say; friends?" Yosuke stretched his hand towards her, but was surprised when she hugged him instead. Yosuke's brain took a moment to respond, but when it did he hugged her back.

Yu was glad for him, but he could see that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes as it once did when it involved her.

Hugging her back, Yosuke asked: "Now, how bout we leave this place?"

"Hai"

* * *

After dealing with an angry Chie, who was worried sick when the rope acting as a lifeline was severed, Yu and Yosuke bid farewell to Saki and headed home. On the way there, Yu sensed there was still something bothering his friend.

"Something on your mind?"

"It's what Teddie said" Yosuke said, referring about people being tossed into the TV and having their shadows manifest themselves. Yu already knew all this, but listened attentively anyway.

"If someone tossed sempai and Miss Yamano in there, then we must do something to stop the culprit."

Yu nodded in agreement "Let's make a commitment."

"Right! With your help I feel we can solve this mystery." Offering him his hand, Yosuke added: "I'm counting on you, partner."

Knowing what came next, Yu accepted the offered hand as a voice said in his mind:

"Thou art I…And I am thou…Thou hast established a new bond…Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana."

Once the social link was re-established, Yu said "You know? For a moment I was worried there."

"Huh. What do you mean?" Yosuke waited for Yu to elaborate.

"Between you and Saki" Yu said, not noticing the brief look of pain on Yosuke. "That things between you two would not be like before."

"Oh, that." Yosuke sighed and looked away from him, concerning Yu. "I honestly can't say if they will."

Cheering himself, Yosuke added "Only time will tell."

"Yeah, you're right." Yu knew this was different from last time, but it was to be expected after the changes he made on this timeline. He only hoped that things would work out for them.

* * *

Midnight:

The TV in Yu's room came to life and showed the blurry image of a girl with long black hair and wearing a pink kimono. Tomorrow, Yukiko Amagi would be kidnapped and it was up to them to save her.

* * *

A.N.

Well, I finally managed to get this chapter out of the way, now I can get back to the good parts (and by good I mean more bondage scenes). I know last chapter seemed rushed, just like this one, but it's all for the greater good. I'm thinking of shortening the fight scenes since we all know what happens in them, and instead focus on the new twists I add.

Next chapter will involve Yukiko's kidnapping and Chie's fight with her other self, with some new scenes in between. Until then.

**_Demonwithasoul_**


	6. The Priestess

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"_Thoughts_"

A.N. After committing writercide last chapter, I finally learned my lesson: Not to follow the story straight to the letter, And certainly Not focus too much on the fighting scenes. With that said, expect several changes (and guest appearances) along the way.

Variety is the spice of life, after all.

* * *

"I'm telling you Yukiko, sometimes you're too naive."

"You think so? Then, was he really trying to hit on me?"

Chie let out an exaggerated groan from her own end on her cell "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. You need to pay more attention to things like that."

Yukiko seemed to struggle with something and once she was done with it she said: "Then it's a good thing you were around to scare him away."

"No problem" Chie replied "Although I can't take all the credit: Yu was there as well."

"Oh, that's right! So was Yosuke."

"Yeah, but he doesn't count"

Yukiko was taken aback by how Chie dismissed Yosuke, unaware that Chie was still mad at him because of today's events. Positioning herself to be more comfortable, Yukiko accidentally knocked a book from her nightstand and the sound was heard by Chie.

"What was that?"

"I knocked a book, nothing serious." Even when she couldn't see her, Yukiko imagined Chie was just next door and she blushed heavily in fear of being discovered like this.

"Anyway, speaking of Yu: what do you think about him?"

"Pardon?"

"Oh come on! You know what I asked." Chie told her "And be honest."

For a moment Yukiko separated her face from her cell before approaching it again "He seems like a nice guy."

Chie waited for Yukiko to elaborate, but after a while it was clear that was all she was getting from her: "That's it?"

"Well, yeah. What else did you want me to say about him?" Yukiko asked her "_Asides of him being good looking and having a nice bum." _Of course, she kept that last part for herself. "Why are you asking me?"

Not expecting her question, Chie stammered a bit "W-Well, I was just curious and…" Looking at her clock, Che was saved by the bell "Oh shoot! It's almost midnight, I gotta go."

Yukiko didn't need to ask, knowing Chie was going to watch the midnight channel thing "Ok, see you tomorrow"

Chie said goodnight to her friend and hanged to focus on the midnight channel, leaving Yukiko to what she was doing. Using her mouth, Yukiko put her phone away and enjoyed the feeling of struggling against the ropes she herself had tied around her hands and feet.

After everyone had gone to sleep, Yukiko locked the door of her room and reached inside her secret hiding place to take out a small box that contained several lengths of rope she would use now and then. Usually, Yukiko carefully planned each of her 'sessions' , so that she could release herself fast if it was needed, but after hearing Yosuke and Chie talking about bondage today, Yukiko couldn't help it and thought all day of doing some self bondage that she forgot to have a backup plan to escape.

* * *

"Yukiko"

It was exactly like last time; after being interviewed in TV, Yukiko's blurry image would appear on the midnight channel to later vanish as the TV turned itself off, which would indicate that she was next in line to be kidnapped.

While he waited for Yosuke's call, Yu wondered what motivated Namatame this time around. Last time, Saki's death was the catalyst that pushed him into trying to 'save' the people shown on the midnight channel, but with Saki safe and sound Namatame had no reason to toss Yukiko inside the TV. But there was no doubt that it was Yukiko that appeared in the TV, so it was a sure bet she would be kidnapped. Could it be Adachi acting sooner this time?

He wondered about it for a long time before deciding to simply ask Namatame or Adachi the next time he saw them. Asking them would surely qualify as a reset, but at the very least Yu might learn more about the mysterious entity Margaret hinted at.

Looking at his clock Yu saw it was past midnight and still no call from Yosuke. Getting sleepy from today's incursion, Yu went to sleep. Tomorrow they could discuss about Yukiko appearing on the midnight channel and prepare for her rescue; however Yu wondered what Yosuke was doing that he forgot to call him.

* * *

Yosuke had all the intention of watching the midnight channel, but the moment he reached his room he lay down on bed, put his headphones on and started hearing his favorite songs as he tried to forget what his other self told him about Saki.

He knew his feelings for her were real, that much was clear, but no matter how he tried he could not stop thinking about what she really thought about him.

In her own room Saki was also thinking about today's events. She deeply regretted thinking of Yosuke like that while she clutched her pillow trying to get some sleep.

* * *

The following morning:

"You fell asleep?"

Yosuke looked apologetically at Yu "Sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"Hey, it happens. You did face your shadow after all. So I won't hold it against you."

"Thanks partner. Anyway, who did you see?"

In that moment, Chie burst into the classroom and frantically looked around: "Yukiko!" not seeing her on her seat, she approached them "Have you seen Yukiko this morning?"

"We haven't seen her, why'd…?" Putting two and two together, Yosuke looked at Yu "Don't tell me she's the one that appeared on TV!"

"You saw her too!?" Nodding, Yu confirmed her fears. Taking out her cell, Chie dialed her number with the same result. "I've been calling her, but it sends me to voicemail."

"Try again. This time she might pick up." Yu offered, knowing Yukiko would call her any moment now.

Doing as told, Chie dialed and just as she was about to give up Yukiko answered. "Yukiko, thank god! Where are you? Aha, Oh! I see. Well, see you tomorrow then. Bye"

Hanging up, Chie put her cell away and found Yosuke and Yu waiting for her to elaborate "She's at the Inn; apparently a group of tourists arrived out of nowhere and they're understaffed, so she was needed there."

"Phew. For a moment I was worried she was kidnapped." Yosuke leaned back on his chair relieved by the news. For his part, Yu knew better but there was nothing he could do but allow the flow of things to continue.

* * *

Yukiko exhaled once Chie hanged up and resumed her struggle for freedom. Last night in her excitement she did a different knot than the one she usually does, and as a result she was unable to untie herself.

"Yukiko, I brought you some soup." Yukiko's mom entered the room carrying a tray. Putting it on the nightstand, she felt her daughter's forehead "You're still a bit warm, but it's not serious. You'll feel better once you eat this."

To avoid suspicion, Yukiko told her she was feeling a bit under the weather "T-Thanks Kaa-san, _cough,_ I feel better already" Good thing Yukiko was covered in a blanket from the neck below, or else her mother would have found out about her peculiar fetish.

Once her mother left, Yukiko tried her luck with the knot holding her hands but it was just too tight. Knowing she had no other choice, Yukiko looked sadly at her lower left drawer where she kept a knife for emergencies and sighed.

She hated cutting her ropes.

* * *

After school Yu, along with Chie and Yosuke, went to Junes to ask Teddie if someone was tossed into the TV world last night. He knew this was going to be a waste of time, however he agreed to it when Yosuke proposed going there.

"Ok, let me tell Saki to meet us there." As Yu stood up, Yosuke stopped him.

"NO" Yosuke said too fast for his liking "I mean, sempai probably needs a break after yesterday. We don't need to bother her with this."

Yu found his reasoning strange but didn't say anything about it. Whatever was going on between Yosuke and Saki was for them to resolve, he just hoped it didn't take him too long to sort his feelings for her.

Back to the present, the group gathered in front of the large flat screen. "We're here, what now?"

"Let's call Teddie to see if he knows something." Chie suggested.

"Ok, check if the coast is clear."

"Actually, we don't need to enter it" Yu told him "Just stick your hand and see if he's there."

He felt bad for letting Yosuke take Teddie's bite, but that hurt, A Lot.

"Are you sure? I don't think…OUCH! Something bit me!"

Yosuke pulled his limb out and nursed his injured hand which now had teeth marks on it. While Chie examined it, Teddie's voice was heard through the TV's speaker.

"What kind of game are we playing?"

"You crazy bear! I'm not food!" Yosuke yelled at the TV, getting curious looks from people nearby.

"Keep it down will you!" Chie told him "You're attracting a lot of attention on us."

Getting closer to the TV, Yu asked Teddie what he already knew. "Teddie, has someone been tossed in your world?"

"Someone in here?" There was silence while Teddie seemed to ponder about it "Not since you came here yesterday."

"Are you sure? You carnivore bear."

"Are you calling Teddie a liar?"

Stepping in to avoid a fight, Yu calmed Yosuke and adressed Teddie "We believe you Teddie. Thanks."

"You got it sensei!"

Satisfied that no one was on the TV world, Yu headed to the flood plains to see if Yukiko was there. Last time Yukiko was resting after getting back from an errand, but this time she was not at the bench from before.

"_Am I too early_?" Yu tried to remember where she had gone and, if his memory was correct, he recalled her saying she had gone to the textile shop. So, he headed to the shopping district.

* * *

"Will that be all, Yuki-chan?"

"Yes, thank you Ms. Tatsumi."

After this morning's unfortunate event, Yukiko had to restock on rope since she was forced to cut herself free. It was fortunate that the textile shop was stocked with what she needed, and no one suspected anything since she'd been running errands for the Inn since little. Someone else would start to wonder why the heiress of the prominent Amagi Inn would buy several meters of rope from time to time, but the kind old lady was none the wiser about what Yukiko really did with the ropes she bought.

"I'm still surprised about it, Yuki-chan" the old lady said to her "to think you can use nylon rope to clean the floors and windows and leave them sparkling clean."

"Y-Yeah, when I discovered it I couldn't believe it myself." Yukiko said as she gripped the ropes "To think something as marvelous like this existed."

I know, just look how clean my shop is." Ms. Tatsumi agreed with her, oblivious of what Yukiko really meant by that.

"Just remember: it's a small trademark secret, so please don't tell anyone."

"Of course dear. This will be our little secret."

Glad to hear that, Yukiko grabbed her parcel and was about to leave when she spotted a red scarf with black borders. Tempted, she reached out to feel it and felt a jolt of pleasure just by wondering how it would feel to have this silky fabric between her lips.

"You should buy it."

Startled, Yukiko almost brought down the entire rack before Yu helped her stabilize it. Blushing by seen daydreaming about a scarf, she looked at who helped her and found the new guy at school.

"Narukami-san"

"Please, call me Yu. Narukami makes me feel old, and I have enough of that with my hair already." Yu said, laughing a bit at the end.

Just one look at his smile and Yukiko was as stuttering mess "O-Ok, Nar...I mean! Y-Yu."

This Yukiko didn't have a lot of experience talking to boys, so Yu didn't think too much about her stuttering. Reaching out for the scarf she way eyeing, Yu grabbed it and extended it as he approached her, causing her to panic.

"WAIT, DON'T…!"

Unfazed by her outburst, Yu got behind an extremely flustered Yukiko and tied the scarf around her neck.

"It looks good on you."

Yukiko exhaled in relief, feeling silly for even thinking he would gag her, while Yu was pleased by her reaction: It seems his hunch was not too farfetched after all.

"Excuse me, how much for this scarf?"

Yukiko was brought back to reality when she heard Yu ask Ms. Tatsumi for the scarf. Before she could say something, Yu was already paying for it. "You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to" Yu replied "As I said, it looks good on you."

"Your boyfriend is right" Yukiko turned crimson red when Ms. Tatsumi said that "That scarf looks very nice on you Yuki-chan."

Yukiko wanted to say she got it all wrong, but the words wouldn't come out from her mouth. Hoping that Yu would correct her, instead he smiled at Ms. Tatsumi and helped Yukiko with her bags as he stepped outside.

Not knowing what to do, Yukiko bid farewell to Ms. Tatsumi and went outside after him.

"W-Why didn't you say she got it wrong?" Yukiko asked once outside.

"About?" Yu acted innocent.

"About what she said about… you know."

"Oh, sorry about that. I thought she was talking about someone else." Yu said, knowing full well she was referring about him and Yukiko.

Sighing, Yukiko stepped in line next to him as he walked "I don't even have a boyfriend, never had one for that matter." She didn't know why she was telling him this, a boy he had met for only a couple of days, but it was too late to take it back now.

"Really?" Yu acted surprised "I'd thought boys would die for a chance to get to know you better. You are quite beautiful after all."

"Huh!" Yukiko blushed at his words, she didn't expect him to compliment her like that "T-Thank you. You're too kind."

Noticing her blush by his praise, Yu casually looked at the bags and said: "What's with the rope anyway?"

Thinking fast, Yukiko thought hard for an excuse and said. "I need it for mountain climbing!"

Ok, she should have tried harder.

"Oh, that makes sense" Yu believed her, relieving Yukiko until he said: "For a moment I thought you were into bondage."

For the third time this day, Yukiko was left speechless and could only gap like a fish out of the water at Yu. "_HOW COULD HE KNOW_!?"

Trying to deny it, Yukiko put her best face of ignorance and asked: "B-Bondage? W-What…What's that?"

He might have fallen for that, if not for her stuttering, her trembling and deep blush giving it away.

"I think you know what that is."

Just to make sure, Yu casually raised the sleeve of her kimono and saw the signs of rope marks on her wrist. Yup, there was no doubt about it; she was into bondage, a very amateur bondage if the rope marks told him anything. She could use some pointers from someone else, someone like him for example.

Prying her hand away from his, Yukiko hastily grabbed her bags and ran home with tears running down her eyes.

"_Good going Yu_!" Kicking himself for being so blunt, Yu ran after her to apologize when he found himself in the velvet room.

* * *

"Welcome to the velvet room."

Yu was glad for the reset since he didn't know where to begin to apologize to Yukiko. Lifting his head, Yu noticed there was a girl he had never seen before sitting next to Igor. Just as he was going to ask about her, Igor beat him to it.

"Allow me to introduce to you a new resident of the Velvet room who will be helping you on your journey."

The unfriendly looking girl gave Yu one look and hmph'd, clearly not impressed by him.

"This is Marie" Margaret decided to introduce her "aren't you going to say anything, Marie?"

"Yeah, I hear you" The girl, now known as Marie, said to Margaret in a harsh tone and then faced Yu "_Nice_ to meet you."

Yu looked past her sarcasm and said: "Nice to meet you too." The only difference was that he meant it. Looking more closely to her, Yu asked: "Haven't I meet you before?'

"Huh!" Marie was taken aback "Maybe, that would explain why you look so familiar …"

Trying and failing to recall from where she might know Marie, Yu asked Igor: "She wasn't here last time I came, why did she appear now?"

"That I cannot say for certain" Igor replied "All I can tell you is ever since you changed the timeline, several things have changed as well."

"One of those changes is Marie" Margaret added.

"I'm right here you know?" Marie bit back "You can't talk about me like I'm not in the room!"

"You'll have to excuse her, her soul is still very young and…"

"Shut up! You don't have to tell him more than he needs to know."

Margaret apologized to Yu "Please forgive her impoliteness. She can be quite harsh with her way of acting, but I am sure she will help you form a bond between yourself and the outside world."

"Yeah right." Marie muttered.

Ignoring her, Margaret added: "Regardless what she says, I am sure Marie will contact you on a later date for that."

"Speak for yourself" Marie looked at Margaret "We both know you'd kill for a chance to go out with…"

Whatever she was going to say remained a mystery when Marie shut her mouth by the glare Margaret sent her way. During all this, Yu watched the exchange between the Irate Marie and the ever calm Margaret with an amused expression on his face.

Clearing his throat, Igor said "Now that proper introductions were exchanged, it's time for you to return. Until next time. Do try to not alienate your allies next time."

* * *

"You should buy it"

Startled, Yukiko almost brought down the entire rack before Yu helped her stabilize it. Blushing by seen daydreaming about being gagged, she looked at who helped her and found the new guy at school.

"Narukami-san"

"Please, call me Yu."

After that, everything else went exactly as before, with the exception that this time Yu didn't mention anything about the ropes or said the word bondage in her presence. Instead, Yu helped her carry her bags back to the bus stop, all the while getting to know her a bit more while she seemed to open more to him in return.

After talking for a long time, Yukiko noticed it was getting late "Sorry! I got to go now. Mom must be wondering about the parcel she sent me to pick up."

"No problem, we can talk some other time."

"Yeah…I'd like that." Yukiko smiled at grabbed her bags "See you tomorrow Yu."

Just as she was about to leave, Yukiko stopped halfway and turned to face him: "thanks for the scarf again."

"Don't mention it. See you tomorrow."

As he watched her go, Yu wondered how he could not see she was just like him last time around. If he had known, he would have probably pursued a relationship with her instead of his current girlfriend.

That got him thinking. Technically, Yu wouldn't be cheating on his girlfriend by going after Yukiko since he hadn't even met his girlfriend yet. On the other hand, Yu had several happy memories with his girlfriend, and he couldn't just brush them aside just to get together with Yukiko, even if she was into bondage like him.

Yu pondered about it for a long time until it started to get dark. Putting all this on hold for the time being, Yu headed home and futilely hoped Yukiko would not appear on the midnight channel.

* * *

"Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko's got a big surprise! I'm going to score myself a hot stud!"

"_There goes that_." Looking at the bright side, Yu had a VCR ready to record princess Yukiko this time around.

"And I got my lacy unmentionables on from top to bottom."

Damn, hearing her say that caused Yu to rethink about having a go at her (and making him need a cold shower).

"_Wonder if she has that dress in real life_?"

* * *

A.N.

Yeah, yeah, I know I said Marie would not appear on this story, but…Surprise Cake!

After thinking for a while I felt this story would not feel complete if I didn't use the Golden version of the game. So there you have it. Just don't expect me to write much of Adachi's social link (Relax, Magatsu Izanagi will still show up later on).

Anyway, read and review. Until next time.

_**Demonwithasoul**_


	7. The Reverse Chariot & Priestess

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"_Thoughts_"

* * *

Saki's hands trembled, both due to a mix of fear and excitement, as she typed her question on the search engine:

"Why do I like being tied up?"

Ever since that night, Saki wondered if there was something wrong with her. Surely someone that liked…'**That**' must be wrong in the head, and so she grabbed her laptop to search for the answers she needed. Hitting Enter on her keyboard, Saki was surprised by the thousands of results she got in return, not knowing which one to pick she chose the first one that caught her interest and blushed when the image of a voluptuous woman, bound, gagged and kneeling appeared next to the text. Focusing on the text, Saki was surprised she was not as alone as she believed she was. The more she read the more Saki realized there was nothing wrong with her way of thinking and felt at peace with herself.

After reading for a while, the image of the bound woman was too much for Saki to ignore and so changed her search for images of tied girls and was not disappointed by what she saw. Hundreds of women, all in different poses, filled the screen to her amazement. Without realizing it, her hands slowly reached down and she began massaging herself when her cell scared the crap out of her.

Slamming the laptop close, Saki realized it was only her phone. Embarrassed by her reaction, Saki calmed herself and looked at the unknown number displayed on her cell before answering.

"Hello?"

"Saki, it's Yu. We need your h…"

"How did you get my number?" As grateful as she was to him, Saki was still weary of him due to his 'unorthodox' means of saving her.

Yu was taken aback by her accusing tone before saying "Yosuke gave it to me. As I was saying: we need your help, Yukiko's been kidnapped."

"Are you sure it wasn't you who kidnapped her?"

Yu cringed on the other end "Guess I deserved that, but I'm serious! She's been tossed into the TV world and we need your help. Will you lend us your strength to save her?"

Yu got silence for a moment before Saki sighed "Yeah, I'll help you. Just give me 20 minutes to get ready."

"No need, we'll go tomorrow morning"

"Tomorrow? But shouldn't we go now?"

"That would be best, but she'll be safe for now." For the following minutes, Yu explained to Saki the mechanics of the TV world and how the people tossed in there would be in danger ONLY when the fog lifted, which was still several days from happening, not that they would wait that long. "Oh, one more thing: make sure you wear your school uniform."

"My school uniform?" Yu's request confused her "Tomorrow is Sunday."

"I know, but you'll understand once we get there"

Not understanding but with the promise of an explanation, Saki agreed "Ok, tomorrow I'll meet you at Junes, but after that I want something from you."

"From me?"

"Yes. I'll tell you tomorrow."

Before Yu could ask more, Saki hanged up, leaving him wondering what she wanted from him.

* * *

The following morning found an awkward Saki waiting on one of the tables at Junes. Dressed in her school uniformm Saki noticed some people looking at her, but not as much as she believed.

"Good morning" Yu greeted her as he took a seat in front of her.

"Morning." Saki looked around and failed to spot the others "Where's Chie and Yosuke?"

"I told them to come a bit later. I thought you'd like to talk in private."

"I appreciate it." Saki collected her thoughts before starting "Ever since that day you kidnapped me..."

"Saved you"

"Kidnapped ME" Saki's stare was enough to deter Yu from interrupting her again "As I was saying; ever since then, you haven't really told me why you thought leaving me tied me up like that was the best method for saving me, and I want to know why, Now!"

Gulping, Yu thought dozens of excuses to tell her, but in the end he really couldn't think of anything asides explaining to her the resets and his fascination with bondage. Seeing Saki was still waiting for him to explain, Yu cleared his throat. "Well, the thing is…"

"Save it" Saki motioned behind of him and Yu saw Yosuke approaching. Glad for the small respite, Yu sighed in relief when she said: "after we save your friend we'll continue our talk."

Nodding, Yu and Saki pretended nothing was going on and faced Yosuke to greet him. Thinking ahead, Yu specifically told Yosuke not to bring any weapon to avoid being arrested and losing a day to save Yukiko.

"Narukami, Sempai, good morning" Yosuke joined them "So, what's the plan?"

"Good, we're all here" The three looked at Chie as she arrived "C'mon, let's go!"

"Go? But we don't have a plan yet." Saki said when Chie added:

"Actually we do. Last night I talked with Narukami and we agreed on getting some gear before we went inside the TV."

* * *

"Izanagi!"

Yu's persona unleashed a Mazio that cleared the way of some bronze dice while Jiraiya and Tsunade dealt with the burning beetles. One black raven got lucky and landed a hit on Yu, but the chain mail he wore under his clothes was strong enough to absorb the blow.

After gathering at Junes, Chie brought them to Daidara so they could buy armor and weapons. Once there, Yosuke and Saki understood the reason of their uniforms.

"Oh I get it! We can wear our armor beneath our school outfit." Yosuke put his armor and then browse the weapons rack until his eyes landed on the hunting Nata "I'll take these."

"Not a bad choice" Yu agreed with his choice while secretly wishing he could give them their best weapons he still carried with him. Looking to see if Chie and Saki were done, Yu stared at Saki, who chose a whip as her weapon.

Saki tried her whip and was pleasantly surprised by it. Sensing she was being watched, she looked at Yu and Yosuke who were staring at her: "What?"

"Nothing!" They said in unison, feeling strangely aroused by her choice of weapon.

Back to the present, the group was still clearing the way from enemies and only one magic hand remained, who Chie easily dispatched.

"Hiyaaa!" Even without a persona, Chie seemed more than capable of defending herself. "I'm so envious of you guys, to be able to summon those monsters to fight for you."

"_Monsters_?" The personas thought.

"How many times do we have to tell you?" Yosuke looked exasperated "They're called persona, not monsters."

"Well, excuse me for not remembering!" Chie exclaimed as she faced Yosuke and for a moment Yu thought her shadow would come out, that is if not for Saki's words calming her.

"You'll soon be able to summon a persona, I know you will. But for now let's focus on saving your friend."

Knowing she was right, Chie relaxed "You're right. Let's focus on saving Yukiko first!"

Nodding, Saki and Chie headed forward, leaving the guys behind.

"What passion." Teddie said with stars on his eyes "They must be so eager to score."

"That's not it, you dumb bear!" Yosuke rubbed his head, already feeling a migraine coming while Yu remained silent; they were almost on the last floor and still no sign of Chie's shadow, this was definitely another unforseen change, Yu only hoped it wasn't anything serious.

After reaching the next floor, the group stopped in front of a door by Teddie's suggestion.

"I feel a strong shadow on the other side."

"This is it" Yu gripped his sword "is everyone ready?"

Yosuke and Chie nodded while Saki looked hesitant. "Next door is another shadow like last time."

"Don't worry" Surprisingly, it was Yosuke who eased her fears "This time I'll be right there to help you."

"Hana-chan…" Saki blushed lightly and then smiled a bit at his words.

After giving her the cold shoulder for most of the trip, Yu was glad Yosuke seemed to be coming around. With that settled, he pushed the doors open and found Yukiko and her shadow.

"Yukiko!" Chie ran to her friend's side, ignoring their warnings.

Looking at them, princess Yukiko smiled in glee. "**My, My, look at this: my three princes have come to rescue me**."

"Three? What's she talking about?"

"Duh! She's obviously talking about me." Teddie said to them when Shadow Yukiko negated it.

"**Nuh uh! My third prince is Chie**" Shadow Yukiko told them and then looked at Saki "**No offense, but I don't know who you are**."

"None taken." Saki replied "I'll just settle with stopping you."

"**That's where you're wrong**" Appearing from behind them, Shadow Chie made her (late) arrival, taking the group by surprise. "**I won't let you steal my favorite stepping stone from me**."

"Stepping stone?" Chie exclaimed "What are you babbling about?"

"**You know full well**" Shadow Chie smirked "**Always defending poor Yukiko, always helping her when guys got in her face, you make it seem like she needs you, but in truth we do all that just to keep her under our thumb. Without her, we're nothing. And without us, she's useless**."

"**She's right**" Shadow Yukiko agreed "**I can't do anything by myself, so I just sit in my ass and wait for my prince to take me away from here. Away from this life I never asked for. But in the end, not even my prince could save me from this damn life people have planned for me ever since I was born**!"

"That's not true" Yukiko struggled to rise "I've…never said that."

"**Say what you want, but deep down you know it's true**." Shadow Yukiko replied "**Who else but I could know what you really think. And if you don't believe me, here's a proof: remember how turned on we were after Yu almost gagged**…"

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Yukiko covered her ears "YOU'RE NOT ME!"

"Wait no!" Yosuke was too late, shadow Yukiko laughed as a cage dropped from the ceiling and she transformed into a bird version of herself. Now transformed, the shadow pushed Yukiko into a cage, which was later raised up out of their reach.

"Yukiko!"

"**See, I told you she was useless**" Shadow Chie said to her real self "**We should have kept a tighter leash on her**."

"Enough!" Chie screamed at her "You can't talk about my friend like that!"

"**Are we blind? Just look at that overgrown chicken. She's nothing but a burden when we don't show Yukiko her place**."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Chie screamed at the top of her lungs "YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME BECAUSE WE ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON!

"**Finally**!" Shadow Chie laughed while she transformed into her shadow version, which looked like a yellow clad dominatrix being hoisted up by several girls. "**Now it's your turn to bow**!"

Shadow Chie cracked her whip on the floor and then sent it towards Chie; the whip would have caused her a deep gash that is if not for Yu jumping in front of her to protect her with his body.

"Narukami-san!" Chie looked horrified as Yu took the blow for her.

"Are you ok, Chie?" Yu asked her, who blushed by the concern he showed to her when he was the one that got hurt.

"Y-Yeah, but your back…!"

"It's nothing" Yu didn't need to see his back to know he was bleeding, but he dismissed it like it wasn't anything serious. In truth, Yu's intention was not to block the attack but to push Chie out of harm's way, but the shadow was fast, faster than he remembers it to be, and stronger to boot.

"**Poor fool, you just couldn't wait your turn**."

"Shut up! How could you say you're me and still hurt my friends?" Chie glared at her Shadow.

"**Again with this? You need a good whipping to start believing it**."

While the shadow and Chie continued their verbal assault, Yosuke casted Dia and healed Yu's wound "Are you ok partner?"

"Now I am" Even when the odds seemed against them, Yu knew how this would end: "Saki, Yosuke, handle Yukiko's shadow, I'll deal with Chie's!" Since shadow Chie was weak against fire (an element not possessed by Jiraiya or Tsunade) Yu decided to finish her first before facing Yukiko's.

"Piro Jack!" Appearing above Yu, the persona sent a wave of Maragi against shadow Chie.

"**Not this time**" with a wave of her hand, shadow Chie froze the fire with a powerful bufula. "**Did you really think it was going to be that easy like last time**?"

Yu's eyes widened by the implication of her words, looking back he was glad the others were too busy handling shadow Yukiko, and that Chie was struggling with her acceptance, to pay any attention to them.

"**Your toy pumpkin won't do**."

"Thanks for the advice" dismissing Piro Jack, Yu summoned a stronger persona "Saturnus!"

Summoning a high level persona was overkill, but he wasn't going to take any chances now. The flame persona launched a Maragidyne, which shadow Chie tried (and failed) to counter with her Bufula, and engulfed the shadow in a sea of flames. Once she reverted back to human form, Yu went to help his friends with Shadow Yukiko.

"Jiraiya!" Yosuke's shadow launched himself against their opponent when a midget prince appeared and blocked his attack.

"**My prince has come to defend me**."

"Not for long, Tsunade!" At Saki's call, Tsunade froze the charming prince, giving Yosuke a direct shot at Shadow Yukiko. "Now's your chance!"

"Jiraiya, use Garu!"

The gust of wind clashed with the large flame bird; however Shadow Yukiko hardly seemed hurt. "**Is that the best you got? Burn to Ashes**!"

Saturnus stepped in front of them and absorbed the flames with ease, act followed by Yu switching to Izanagi, who stabbed his spear right through her chest.

"Izanagi, Zyodine!"

Shadow Yukiko was naturally weak against ice, but Izanagi's lighting was more than enough to send her crashing to the ground, with cage and all. With her shadow defeated, Yukiko's cage disintegrated and caused her to fell down in freefall.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Closing her eyes, Yukiko expected several broken bones from the fall, but instead she was caught in a pair of strong arms. Opening her eyes she looked at Izanagi's yellow ones, as the persona gently lowered her next to Yu.

"Thank you Izanagi" Yu would have loved to be the one that caught her, but he'd settle with having his persona doing it for him. "Are you alright Yukiko?"

"I'm ok" Yukiko started to smile when she realized her shadow was still alive. "She's…!"

"You" Yukiko froze by Yu's word "You have to accept her as a part of yourself. The same goes to you Chie."

Chie, who had her attention solely on her other self, was broken out of her reverie by his comment. "A part of me?"

"That's right. I know it's not easy, but you have to accept it" Yosuke reassured her, recalling his own experience while Saki did the same.

"But…" With Yukiko here, Chie felt ashamed for what her shadow revealed about her and was unable to accept herself, when surprisingly it was Yukiko who spoke.

"They're right. I wanted to leave this town by any means necessary, anyway just to escape this fate and that's why I was so dependent of you. I'm sorry Chie."

"What are you saying!" Chie exclaimed "You don't have anything to apologize to me!"

"But I do" Yukiko replied "I became so dependent of you so that I would not have to take decisions by myself. In a way, I'm at fault for the way you thought of me."

"That's bull!" Yukiko was startled by Chie "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you!" Unable to look at her, Chie turned away in shame "I pretended I was helping you when in truth I was jealous of you, and I got so used to it that I slowly became addicted to it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Yukiko."

"Chie" crossing the gap between them, Yukiko embraced Chie "There's nothing to apologize, you're my friend and friends forgive each other."

"Yukiko, I…"

Seeing she was still unsure of herself, Yukiko said "Tell you what: I'll forgive you if you forgive me. Is that ok with you?"

Wiping the tears that threatened to come out, Chie nodded "Ok"

As glad as Yu was for them, he had to end the moment "Yukiko, Chie, there's still a matter to attend."

Looking to where he pointed, the girls found their shadows with a bored expression, still waiting to be accepted. "Oh right! He he"

Once they accepted themselves, their shadows dissipated and in their place were now Tomoe Gozen and Konohana Sakuya, who then vanished and rejoined them. While Chie stumbled a bit, Yukiko almost fainted for being so long in the TV world and so Yu carried her bridal style while Yosuke helped Chie.

"Narukami-san!" Yukiko blushed profusely by the close proximity between them.

"I thought we agreed on dropping the formalities" Yu told her "Let me help you for now."

Yukiko only nodded, secretly enjoying the closeness between them. For her part, Chie was a bit jealous of Yukiko's current position, but decided to keep it to herself. She had just been forgiven by her friend and there was no chance she was going to screw it up again. From now on she vowed to be the best friend she could for her.

"_Although, he is fair game"_ As much as Yukiko was her friend, Chie had just accepted her other self and was not ashamed of thinking about getting Yu's attention for herself.

Once they reached the exit, Saki helped Chie and Yukiko while Yosuke talked to Yu.

"Dude, that persona you summoned OWNED them, but when did you get him and why didn't you summon it before?"

"I actually just got it, it's strange but after we talked last time it sort of just came to me." Yu lied, knowing full well saturnus was a manifestation of his link with Teddie, but Yosuke didn't need to know that.

"Strange, but then again everything so far has been strange to begin with."

Satisfied by Yu's explanation, Yosuke entered the Tv while Yu decided to visit the velvet room tomorrow. What Shadow Chie told him was still fresh in his mind.

* * *

"Welcome to the velvet room" Margaret welcomed Yu with a smile while Marie rolled her eyes.

Greeting them, Yu took his usual seat and stared at Igor "You said time would reset if I didn't let my friends accept themselves, but yesterday I intervened and nothing happened. Why is that?"

"Straight to the point I see. I like that." Igor smirked "if you remember our last conversation, I never said that , I just implied it. As for your question; if I'm not mistaken, this time the flow of events was…different this time around. Am I correct?"

Yu nodded, remembering the dual fight with shadow Chie and Yukiko.

"Well then, there you have your answer."

"Let me get this straight: since whoever is behind the midnight channel changed yesterday's events, I was also entitled to change them."

"That is correct." Igor replied "That is also the reason why you were able to save that girl from her untimely fate."

Yu didn't need to ask who he was referring to know he was talking about Saki. "Then what now? Should I expect different scenarios from now on?"

"That, I cannot say. Remember we are here to aid you on your quest for the truth, not to answer everything for you."

As always, Igor's answers did little to satisfy his doubts, but Yu knew it was pointless to argue with him. Bidding farewell, Yu left the velvet room. "_I guess I should be grateful_." Yu thought "_at the very least I'm allowed to make some changes now_."

"Hey you."

Looking back, Yu was surprised to see Marie outside of the velvet room "I thought you couldn't leave that place."

"Why would you think that? It's not like the nose can keep me in there." Marie replied and then started stretching, allowing Yu to admire her long legs and enticing bust "It feels nice to be out of that cramp limo."

"Since you're here, want me to show you around?"

"Huh? I mean yeah, whatever." Even if she acted indifferent to his offer, Yu could see she seemed pleased by it. "Lead the way."

* * *

"Jeez, what a day"

After last night's rescue, Yosuke was tired. If you summed to that going to school the next day and after that work a couple of hours at Junes, he was on his last leg. Closing his locker, Yosuke was about to leave when he ran into Saki.

"Sempai!"

"Hana-chan!" Like him, Saki was also just getting off her shift and just so happened to run into him. "Are you heading out?"

"Yeah, well see you!"

"Wait." Saki said, but Yosuke was already gone. Ever since that day when he faced his shadow, Saki noticed how Yosuke seemed to distance himself from her more and more as each day passed, going as far as not saying her name and just calling her Sempai. While in the past this would have pleased her, she slowly started missing the attention.

Opening her locker, Saki stared sadly at the ripped ticket she had stitched together with tape and sighed. Changing clothes, she prepared to leave when she saw his keys on the floor and decided to find him to give them back to him.

* * *

"Steak skewer?" Marie looked at the food displayed on the store. "Hey lady, give me one of those."

"Of course, that will be 320 yen."

"Thwee hunnert twin…Bleh. That's too hard to say."

Yu found they way she said that cute "Want me to buy you one?"

"You have money?" Marie looked at him surprised "Wow, you're awesome! You must be rich if you can pay that!"

"Emmm, not really" Yu scratched his head as he started explaining the basics of money to her.

"Bo-ring." Marie yawned "And here I thought you were awesome. Makes me wonder what Margaret sees in you."

Yu sweat dropped, when he suddenly realized what she said "Wait, what did you say?"

"_Oh crap_!" Marie could already imagine what Margaret would do if she finds out, and looked for a distraction, when one in the form of Yosuke was presented to her.

"Yo, Narukami" Yosuke greeted him when he noticed Marie "Whoa, she's cute. Who is she? Don't tell me she's your date?"

"Nothing like that, she's a friend" Yu replied, missing how Marie looked slightly hurt at his word or how Yosuke perked at the word 'friend' "Yosuke, this is Marie. Marie, this is Yosuke."

"It's a pleasure to meet you" Yosuke eagerly extended his hand which Marie took in return.

"The same"

While Yosuke seemed interested in making her acquaintance, Marie was only glad his arrival had made Yu forget what she said about Margaret. Or so she thought.

After introductions had been made, the three of them ate some steak skewer, courtesy of Yosuke, and were now explaining to Marie why it was called steak.

"It's actually an abbreviation of beefsteak" Yosuke (who was seated next to Marie) explained.

"That's stupid, why don't just call it Fsteak?" Marie replied "That makes more sense than that!"

"Fucksteak?" Yu said "I like it."

"Hana-chan, there you are!" After looking around, Saki finally found Yosuke and her smile faltered a bit when she saw him sitting next to Marie. "Oh! I haven't seen you before, are you a friend of Yosuke?"

"A friend…yeah, you could say that" Marie replied "Who are you? His sister?"

"Sister?"

"You do call him Hana-chan, so it's an honest mistake." Marie reasoned, while Yosuke agreed with her.

"You know, she does have a point." Yosuke mused.

Deciding to make the introductions himself, Yu said: "Saki, this is Marie. She's a friend of ours."

"Ah, I see! It's a pleasure to meet you" Saki said, putting her best fake smile.

"Yeah, me too." Marie replied before standing up "Well, It's getting late, I'd better get going."

"Want me to walk you there." Yosuke instantly offered, to which Marie just shrugged. As she watched them go, Saki felt something that closely resembled jealousy stir inside of her.

"If it makes you feel any better, I know Yosuke likes you more." Yu told her.

"W-WHERE DID THAT COME FROM!?" Saki exclaimed "I don't care who he dates!"

"Try saying that without stuttering…and without raising your voice."

Saki tried to deny it, but couldn't think of anything to say and so she looked away so he couldn't see her blush.

Pleased with her reaction, Yu decided to stop teasing her "Since we're here do you want to continue our conversation from yesterday?" After last time, Yu had enough time to prepare a good cover story and was ready for any question she might have. "Let's talk about it over some Fsteak. My threat"

"Fsteak?" Saki looked at him funny before shaking her head "Actually, you're right. There's still something that I want to ask you."

"Alright then, Shoot."

"I've been replaying the same scenario over and over and found countless ways you could have prevented me from going near a TV at midnight." Saki told him "You could have just lock me in that house, drugged me to keep me asleep or even just plain tell me and I would have believed you."

"Would you have believed me?" Yu looked at her earnestly.

"Ok, maybe not, but you could have tried at least."

"_I did, and all those failed_" Yu recalled, until kidnapping her worked.

"Anyway, you could have done any of those but you decided to follow your crazy plan of kidnapping me. Now, I imagine two scenarios: either you honestly thought kidnapping me and leaving me tied up was the best idea you had… or you're into that."

Yu seemed calm by what she told him, but in truth he was on deep waters.

"So, are you...into bondage?"

As she waited for him to answer, Yu relented "Yes. I chose that method because I like bondage, but you have to believe me when I tell you I did it so I could save you."

If Yu thought she was going to blackmail him, he was shocked by what Saki said next:

"I believe you" Saki blushed profusely and looked at her lap "Can...Can you teach me?"

From all scenarios he prepared for her, Yu almost fainted by the one he never saw coming.

"_Am I in heaven_?"

* * *

A.N.

Just to make it clear: Marie won't start dating Yosuke, nor Saki will end in Yu's harem. Marie will end with Yu eventually, and Saki only wants him to show her the ropes, figuratively speaking.

I might get criticized by the short fight scenes or by how fast Chie and Yukiko accepted their other self, but it was never my intention to detail those parts on this story. For now just pretend it's like new game plus and Yu barely breaks a sweat defeating the shadows with his 90+ level.

One last thing, If enough people demand it I will add lemon scenes, just not on this site.

With nothing else coming to mind, I bid you farewell. Read and review, It's always a pleasure to read the feedback I get from you.

Until next time

_**Demonwithasoul**_


	8. The Sun and the Moon

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4, or any of its characters. The Persona series belongs to Atlus.

"Speech"

"_Thoughts_"

* * *

"That's how you see it?"

"More o less" Yu told her "It mostly depends on each one's preferences."

"I see" Saki tapped her chin and looked at him "have you tried it yourself?"

Yu smirked before answering her "I prefer to tie girls than to tie myself."

"Oh really? Have you tied a lot of girls?"

"Ehh…not really." Counting the 3 times he tied her before finally saving her, Yu didn't have a lot of experience before that. "But I've read a lot."

"Well, all that reading paid off" Saki unwittingly rubbed her wrists "The way you tied me was inescapable."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's ok, I guess you did save me after all."

After she asked him to teach her, Yu brought Saki to the floodplains so they could speak without being interrupted. While at first both were nervous about talking openly of bondage, after the awkwardness passed both Saki and Yu talked nonstop about their shared fetish.

"Why do you like it? Bondage, I mean."Looking at her, Yu waited for her to elaborate: "It's just…I still don't understand why I feel so strong about it."

"And who better to ask than your kidnapper" Yu joked.

"Who else could I ask? It's not like I can go to the public library and look for a copy of 'bondage for dummies' now, can I?"

"Try searching for '101 on damsels in distress' instead."

At this, both Saki and Yu laughed for a few seconds. "It's nice to talk to someone about this."

"Yes, yes it is" Saki said while she wiped a tear from all the laughter. Looking at him, she asked: "So, will you teach me?"

"No."

"Wait, what?" To say Saki was surprised was an understatement "Why not? I thought we shared a similar passion?"

"We do" Yu told her "But you don't want a teacher, what you want is a Dom."

"A Dom? What's that?"

"A person that dominates in the relationship, in your case you'd be a Sub."

"Wait Wait Wait!" Saki interrupted him "I'm not looking for a relationship, and I'm certainly not looking for someone to dominate me!"

"Never said you were" Yu told her "However, relationships like this usually become that of a Dom and Sub. That's why I can't teach you."

Standing up, Saki looked at him "All I want to know is more about bondage, besides, you're not really my type."

"That's good to know" Yu said, not because he didn't found Saki attractive, but because he wouldn't think of stealing her away from Yosuke.

"Why not?" Saki looked rejected "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing!" Yu raised his hands in defense "Nothing's wrong with you! I just think you'd be a better match for someone else. That's all."

Sitting back down, Saki grabbed her head "Not this again. I don't have a thing for Han-Yosuke! Just let it go. Besides;" Saki looked down "he looked like he was more interested in your friend from back there."

As much as she wanted to deny it, Yu could tell Saki was jealous of Marie "Tell you what: I'll point you in the right direction when it comes to bondage if you start being honest with yourself."

"I'm not interested in him!" Saki exclaimed, but her slight blush said otherwise.

"Suure you don't" Yu put his arm around her shoulder "If you're lucky, maybe he can be your dom."

"Bite me"

* * *

"Are you ok Narukami? You look like hell."

"Yeah, just didn't sleep much last night." Dismissing Yosuke's worries, Yu dropped his head on the desk to try and catch some sleep before the bell rang, however his mind kept bringing him to yesterday.

After spending some time with Saki, Yu's mind was in turmoil. Asides Yukiko, Saki was the only person he could relate to when it comes to bondage, and the fact she was just beginning to discover it made it all the better. Yu enjoyed talking with her about bondage, maybe too much, which was the reason why the last few nights he lied on bed unable to get some sleep.

Yosuke loves her (even if he didn't knew it yet), which was the main reason Yu did everything he could to save her, but ever since he started spending time with her he slowly became interested in the pretty third year girl.

Looking up from his desk, Yu watched as Yosuke began another quarrel with Chie and sighed; "_The things I give up for friends_."

Noticing him, Chie pushed Yosuke away and greeted him "Good morning Yu."

"Good morning."

Before she could say anything else, Yosuke cut in "Why can't you greet me like that?"

"Because you still owe me one Trial of the dragon, remember?"

While Yosuke wilted under her stare, Chie ignored him and looked at Yu "Say; I know it's sudden but; would you consider joining the Basketball team?"

"Basketball team?"

Chie looked hopefully at Yu "They could really use another player. Will you think about it, consider it a personal favor for me, please."

As he looked at Chie, Yu decided to mess with her a bit "If I join the team, what do I get in return?"

Chie was taken aback by his request but decided to make it an opportunity. Giving him her sexiest stare (Which scared the crap out of them) Chie awkwardly sat on Yu's desk "Whatever you ask"

Yu and Yosuke sweat dropped as Chie almost fell down from the desk. If he was to be honest, Yu was planning on joining the team anyway, when he recalled just who the manager of the basketball team was.

* * *

Ai Ebihara was on a sour mood. From all the things she could be doing right now (shopping, skipping classes, shopping, more shopping) she was stuck here as the manager of a bunch of sleazebags.

"Kou-san!"

Looking at the doorway Ai frowned as she saw that tomboy Chie. "_What does she want ...Hellooo!"_ Looking past Chie, Ai spotted the new guy and couldn't help but notice he was not bad on the eye.

While Chie spoke with Kou, Yu looked at Ai and noticed the similarities between her and Saki.

"_Was he...checking me out_?" Ebihara wondered and then smirked. "_Of course he was. Who wouldn't?"_

"_This is wrong_." Yu chasticized himself for what he was thinking.

Spending time with Saki left Yu wanting to get closer to the pretty brunette, but knowing what Yosuke felt for her forced Yu to abandon that plan, so here he was looking at a very close lookalike of her, thinking of using her just to get Saki out of his head.

Seeing her looking at him caused Yu to divert his eyes away from her but the damage was already done.

* * *

"_Come on, Do it! It's not like she isn't shallow herself."_

Yu had to agree with the voice inside his head; of what little he got to know Ai during the last time Yu knew that the Basketball manager was quite shallow, however he couldn't shake the feeling he was thinking like a douchebag by planning to use her like that.

"_No you aren't"_ The voice told him "_You're just getting payback for all of your fallen brothers she used and discarded as toilet paper when she got bored of them_."

The voice seemed so convincing, however Yu's moral won in the end "_No, I won't use her and that's final!_"

Inside his head, Yu heard a laugh he could have sworn sounded female "_Fine, have it your way, but I know you'll succumb sooner or later_."

After saying that, Yu found it curious that the voice seemed to vanish, even when he starting talking to himself it just didn't feel the same.

As he pondered about it, Yu got distracted and didn't pay attention which caused him to crash into someone.

"Sorry." Yu apologized to the girl while helping her get back up.

"It's fine, but next time pay attention to where you're going."

While he helped her pick up her things, Yu noticed her features; short dark hair, gray eyes, a bit slim but attractive no less.

"It's impolite to stare, you know."

"I wasn't" Yu told her "it's just that you look familiar."

Indeed she looked familiar to him; if his memory served him well, he recalled seeing her during that god awful play Kou participated on during the school festival.

"Now I remember! You're from the drama club."

"I wont deny that." The girl replied. "Yes, I'm a member of the drama club."

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name."

"That's because I didn't give it to you." Extending her hand, she introduced herself "My name is Yumi, Yumi Ozawa."

"Nice to meet you Yumi, my name is Yu, Narukami Yu."

After shaking hands, Yumi got a good look at him: "Say, have you ever given it any thought about joining our club?" Yumi asked while walking around him. "we could use someone with qualities such as yours."

"Oh. And what qualities do you see in me?"

Yumi looked at Yu from head to toe like "Plenty of ... opportunities."

"It's impolite to stare, you know."

"Clever" Yumi smirked "Back to the subject; you should really consider joining us. Think about it, will you?"

Grabbing her things Yumi made her exit "Hope to see you there."

As he watched her go, Yu found his eyes wandering low to rest on her ass, which Yumi seemed to move with some extra sway of her hips.

"_I should join the drama club"_ Yu thought while he watched her go "_She does make some valid points_."

* * *

The following morning found Yu heading towards the drama club to join when he stumbled upon Ai.

"Oh, it's you." Ai stared at Yu with a look of boredom.

Recalling the offer she made him during the past cycle, Yu decided to switch the roles this time:

"Why don't we skip classes together?"

"Huh!" Ai was surprised when Yu asked her what she was only moments from asking herself. Giving him a smile, Ai decided to give the newbie a chance. "Ok, let's go."

* * *

Okina City:

"Hurry up, will you!"

Yu regretted going out with Ai after visiting the third store. He knew there was a reason why he didn't further his social link with her, and now; with his hands full of bags, Yu remembered just what that reason was.

Looking at a store, Ai held her hand to stop "Wait for me here. I won't take long"

Seeing a chance to rest, Yu sat on a nearby bench while Ai went to Victoria's Secret. Last time Yu enjoyed the images his brain conjured of Ai modelling sexy lingerie, but today he just wanted to end this day.

While he waited for her, Yu looked around the mall when he spotted a hallway he hadn't seen before. Seeing that Ai wasnt coming anytime soon, Yu decided to explore and see what stores were hidden in there. At first, Yu was disappointed since most if the stores were unocupied, but his disapointment turned into excitement when he saw the last shop:

Bridge to Heaven: BDSM store

Looking around to see if no one was around, Yu entered the store once the coast was clear.

The inside of the store was filled with rows of things that caught Yu's attention: Ropes, handcuffs, scarves, leather straps, ball gags, harnesses, everything he could imagine plus more.

"Welcome"

Yu almost dropped the gag he was holding when he spotted the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes upon: Wavy long gray hair, red eyes and an hourglass curvy figure most women would kill for. She was a bit pale, but Yu focused more on her tight white blouse that showed her firm bust and her black miniskirt which left her long, stocking clad, legs exposed for him to admire.

"Like what you see?" The woman leaned towards him, giving Yu a good look at her cleavage.

"Yes... I mean! That's not what I meant! I wasn't looking!"

"I was talking about my store" The woman's words calmed Yu "but I'm glad I'm of your approval, handsome."

Yu chocked by the sultry look she sent him "My name is Nami. What can I do for you, mister...?"

"Narukami" Yu extended his hand to her "Narukami Yu."

Nami returned the gesture and, before he broke the handshake, she slid her finger over his hand, enjoying how he blushed at her action. "Tell me, Narukami Yu; has anything from my store caught your…attention?"

Not catching her innuendo, Yu said "Actually, I'm just looking around. Never knew there was a store like this on Inaba."

Slightly disappointed, Nami quickly regained her cheerful persona "Well, good things appear for those who look for them…for a visual example; I believe your girlfriend is searching for you."

Following to where she pointed, Yu saw Ai looking for him. "She's not actually..."

"It brings me great joy to see a young couple like you two enjoying the fine pleasures of bondage" Nami said to him.

Yu wanted to correct her, but he did kinda liked how she painted the relation between him and Ai "Well, to be honest I haven't introduced her to it."

"Oh no." Nami looked slightly apologetic "Wait! I have the perfect gift you can give her to start her into this wonderful world of pleasure."

Rummaging around, Nami returned to Yu and handed him a pink collar "Here; this will definitely be a good way to start."

The collar was more a choker with a heart design on it, only difference was that it had a ring so one could attach a leash to it. After giving it some thought, Yu decided it was worth a shot, Ai did seem to like wearing choker's after all, and in case she didn't like it, he could always give it to Yukiko. "How much is it?"

"Don't worry, it's on the house" Nami said to him "but in return I expect you to come back one of these days and tell me how it worked for you. Is that acceptable?"

Yu could easily pay for the collar, but just to have an excuse to come back and see the gorgeous woman he accepted her offer. "Very well, you have a deal."

"Great! Now, you better go with your girl, it's impolite to keep a lady waiting." As she watched him go, Izanami smiled deviously. "_Some things never change_, _dear_."

* * *

"_Where is he_?" looking at her watch, Ai realized there was only an hour left before classes ended and, if she wanted to keep the school counselor off her case, she needed to be back before the last bell rang. Looking to her left, Ai glared at Yu, who rushed at her side with her shopping bags on hand.

"Sorry, got distracted for a moment."

"Let's just go." Ai was saying when she spotted the black bag Yu carried with him "I don't remember buying that."

Looking to where she pointed, Yu saw the bag where Nami's 'present' was "Oh this? It's actually a gift."

"A gift, you shouldn't have!" Snatching the bag from him, Ai's smile changed into confusion "A collar?"

"It's actually a choker" Yu tried to explain, but Ai's expression was quickly changing from confusion to anger.

"This isn't a choker, it's a Collar! You bought me a Collar!"

"It's just that you seem to like wearing chokers so much!"

"Choker's, not Dog Collars!"

"Isn't a collar the same as a choker?" Yu asked and immediately regretted it by the murderous glare she got from her.

Seeing that they were drawing the attention from people nearby, plus time was still running, Ai decided to drop the subject. "Let's just go!"

"Look, I'm sor…"

"Lets. GO!" Grabbing his hand, Ai dragged him all the way to the train station. During the entire trip neither one said a word to the other; Yu for fear of screwing up things even more, Ai because she was pondering about the collar inside the bag she still held. A couple of times she thought about tossing the offending thing out through the train's window but each time she tried to, she always seemed to change her mind.

When they arrived at school, Ai grabbed her shopping's and left without giving Yu a second glance.

"_Guess I screwed that one_." Yu thought before he realized he had drama club today "_Oh well, hopefully I'll do better with Yumi_."

* * *

"You want me to play as a damsel in distress?"

"Well, not exactly a damsel but a princess" Fearing he was about to screw it up a second time today, Yu explained to Yumi his idea "In the play the princess is kidnapped by an evil wizard, and so she must be rescued by a brave knight. A large battle ensues and in the end the knight saves her. What do you think?"

Yumi looked skeptical and for a moment Yu thought she was going to reject the idea "Ok!"

"Ok?" Yu was just messing around, not really expecting her to agree to it. "Are you sure?"

"Sure. The drama club needs a new twist and something tells me this is it." Yumi replied to him "Besides; it's only a play, it's not like there's something wrong or perverted about it."

"Yeah, you're right" Yu nervously sweated at her statement "Then we'll need to write some new lines."

"No need." Grabbing her backpack, Yumi took out some pages and handed them to him "I like to be prepared."

Looking through them, Yu found a script they could use as base for the new play and, between the two of them, they rewrote it to fit the new play.

Satisfied with their work, Yu grabbed his lines "Ok then! We can get started now."

"Not just yet."

Puzzled, Yu looked at her expectantly as she grabbed some rope that was lying around on set "I need to get in character." Yumi handed the rope to Yu "Tie me up."

Yu would have jumped at her offer, but instead chose to play dumb. "E-Excuse me?"

"You heard me: Tie me up!" Yumi seemed exasperated to have to explain it to him. "My role on the play is the princess, and on this part she's just been kidnapped." With that said, Yumi extended her hands to him "What are you waiting for? Get to it!"

"Oh, umm yeah..." Never had Yu imagined drama club to be this fun. If he had known, he wouldn't have wasted his time with the music club.

Meanwhile, on the music room, Ayane sneezed while she practiced with her trombone.

While he coiled the rope around her hands, Yu thought of another idea "Shouldn't I tie your hands behind your back?"

"Are you crazy!?" Yumi took a step back and stared at him in shock.

Seeing the way she looked at him told Yu his luck had run out. This was too good to be true after all._ "Guess it's a reset..."_

"If you tie my hands behind my back I won't be able to read my lines." Yumi said, to Yu's pleasant surprise. "For now let's just focus on getting me in character. You can tie me properly before the play, alright?"

Using all his willpower so he wouldn't show his excitement, Yu acted as calm as he could while he tied her hands in front. Once that was done, they started rehearsing for a while until she unexpectedly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"Mmmm... something's missing." Yumi tapped her fingers on her chin. "What could it be?"

So far to back down now, Yu tried his luck once more: "Maybe a gag?"

Yumi's eyes widened and then she smiled at him. "That's right! I won't feel in character without one." Rummaging through her bag, Yumi searched for something that might serve them and fished out a scarf "Here! Gag me. Of course you'll have to put it over my mouth instead of between my lips so I can continue to say my lines, but you already knew that."

"Of course" Yu was glad Yumi had her back to him so she wouldn't see the large tent forming on his pants. "No problem at all."

* * *

"In Okina city?"

"Right around the corner of Victoria's secret. Down the path with all the empty stores."

Saki pointed the directions when she stopped: "what were you doing at Victoria's secret?"

"Don't ask." Yu slumped down as he recalled his trip with Ai.

While they waited for the others, Yu told Saki about Nami's store where she could get "supplies" for her "breaks". Hearing footsteps approaching, both stopped talking about the store to welcome the others.

"Narukami, Sempai, we're here!" Yosuke informed them while Chie and Yukiko took the rear carrying some instant cup noodles.

Looking at Yukiko, Yu smiled when he noticed she was wearing the scarf he bought her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thanks to all of you." Yukiko addressed the group, however her eyes lingered on Yu a bit longer than the rest

"Don't mention it. Yosuke replied, ending the moment between Yu and Yukiko before adding "Back to the subject; we must catch the kidnapper before he can hurt someone else."

"There must be a connection between the victims." Chie voiced her thoughts "We know Miss Yamano was staying at the Amagi Inn, which links Yukiko to the case."

"And I discovered her body" Saki played along with the cover story she and Yu made up. "Unfortunately I couldn't see the kidnapers face."

"It was the same for me. I'm sorry I can't be of more help." Yukiko looked sad until Yu put a hand over her shoulder.

"It's alright. What matters is that you're safe."

Chie watched the interaction between them and almost crushed the noodles in her hand, if not for Yosuke's voice.

"By the way: Aren't those done by now?"

Checking their noodles, Chie and Yukiko found out he was right. "You're right. Itadakimasu!"

The aroma of the noodles caused Yosuke's mouth to water "Say, can I have a..."

"Narukami, would you like to try some?"

"Taste mine; it has tofu on it."

Yosuke was left hanging as both girls surrounded Yu. "It's always the same when it involves Narukami. Sigh..."

"Y-Yosuke, here" A nervous Saki handed Yosuke a bento lunch.

"For me!?" Yosuke couldn't decide what surprised him more; that Saki was giving him a bento lunch, or the fact it was the first time she called him by his name. "I...I don't know what to say?"

"Try thanks" Saki offered, getting flustered all of a sudden.

"Thank you, Saki-sempai." Yosuke smiled at her.

"It's nothing, really!" Saki looked away so he wouldn't see the blush on her face, or her smile at Yosuke saying her name once again.

From his place, Yu smiled in approval as he kept eating the noodles when he discover to his horror that the cups were empty.

"You ate them all!?" Chie exclaimed.

"My...My fried tofu..."

Looking at Yu, Chie and Yukiko cornered him: "You know what this means, right?"

Yosuke couldn't help but laugh at Yu's dillema while he grabbed a sushi roll from his bento. "_Tough luck partner_."

His laughter, however, abruptly ended by the awful taste of the sushi roll.

"H-How is it?" Saki asked "It's the first time I've prepared sushi, and it might not have mixed well with the vinegar and salt."

"It...it's great!"

Yosuke's words delighted Saki, who embraced his neck, completely missing the purple color of his face.

* * *

It took some convincing, but in the end Yu was able to placate Yukiko and Chie's wrath by promising each girl a free meal at Junes, but what really found weird was how fast they accepted his offer.

"_They also seemed a bit eager"_ Yu thought.

Heading for his shoe locker, Yu was changing his footwear when he spotted Ai coming his way. Seeing him as well, Ai discretely covered her neck with her hand but Yu still saw it; she was wearing the collar he bought her that day.

What had compelled her to wear it, Ai did not know, but now, in front of him, she just wanted to leave to save herself from the mocking he was sure to...

"See you tomorrow Ai."

"_Huh_?" Ai was left dumbstruck as Yu left without another word. Her confusion turned to anger and she quickly cached up with him to stand in front of him and poked his chest "WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?"

"That I'll see you... tomorrow" A confused Yu told her "Tomorrow we have practice, right?"

Knowing she was acting crazy, Ai lowered her hand "R-Right."

"By the way;" Yu whispered into her ear, causing shivers to run all over Ai "I love how that collar looks on you."

With a large blush, Ai was left rooted to the spot as Yu left the school. He didn't know what compelled him to say that, but he sure wasn't regretting it.

* * *

A.N.

There we go, another chapter.

The choker idea I got it from Yukari Takeba from P3. I've always found curious how she always wears it and got me thinking; maybe she's also into it. The idea of Yukari being a submissive of Minato/Makoto, or any other character, placed dozens of ideas for the future. For now we'll just have to cross our fingers and hope she or any P3 character make an appearance on the story.

And yes; there will be lemons (probably on another site, but we'll see when we reach that part)

As always, read and review. Reading your reviews are what motivates me to write.

Until next update

_**Demonwithasoul **_


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